Echoes of Light
by CannibalisticApple
Summary: Uchiha Masaru is a normal boy who wanted to become a ninja with his twin sister Akari. He didn't know he'd witness a bloody massacre and become one of the last Uchiha. He didn't know his first friend would have the power to change the world. He has no idea there's a world where he and Akari don't exist. But in this one they do, and their existence creates unimaginable ripples.
1. Prologue: Just Gonna Wing It

Prologue

* * *

 _"Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. I obviously know how mine begins, and I have a pretty good idea on how it will end, but for everything in between I'm just gonna wing it. Let's see how much I can change this narrative without sending everything to hell!"_

* * *

Poets often like to reference sharp contrasts in nature, and few are more favored than the paradoxical relationship of darkness and light.

Countless pieces of writing espouse flowery words to paint pretty images of the stark differences between the two while also emphasizing their strong connection. Not quite two sides of the same coin, but two irrevocable forces which can only be fully appreciated when viewed in tandem with each other. Writers assault readers with references to black and white, night and day, yin and yang—

Ultimately, the various pretty words tend to boil down to the same message:

 _'For there to be light, there must first be darkness. One cannot exist without the other.'_

Seated at a table amid a fantastic caricature of death and destruction locked deep in his mind, Masaru couldn't help but think perhaps they had a point.

Monochrome flames of black and white danced around him in an perpetual battle for domination even as they stretched for a pitch black sky, reaching for a moon split in equally tinted halves of red and blue. Apparitions of rotting corpses littered the field around him, devoid of color and some shining brighter than others, faces frozen in agony. Wisps of screams and cries and laughter hummed in the background, an eerie chorus of whispers that constantly tickled the ear.

Once upon a time Masaru's fingers would be trembling as he lifted his cup, drops of brown liquid spilling over the rim as the tea audibly sloshed around. Ghostly impressions of the taste of bile might tickle his throat, so faint he couldn't be certain it actually existed or not. The fact that his mindscape took the form of a nightmarish battlefield deeply disturbed him, vicious carnage surrounding a simple low table with four cushions on either side.

Now, though, Masaru felt nothing as he stared at the corpses, holding the teacup nonchalantly as if he were watching a storm. A ghostly orb floated past him, flickers of movement drawing his eye to the misty images playing within the silvery haze _._

 _._

 _Eyebrows furrowing with determination, Masaru threw the kunai and held his breath, watching anxiously as it arced across the yard. Shink! The blade embedded into the target set up by the fence, hitting the first ring just outside the bulls eye._

 _"Yes!" he hissed triumphantly, pumping a fist into the air as his face exploded into a smile. Sure, it wasn't a perfect throw, but it marked a vast improvement over when he first began training._

 _"Masaru-chan? Are you here?" He perked up at the sound of his mother's voice from within the house, and all thoughts of training flew away as he spun around and raced inside. She stood in the kitchen unloading several bags of groceries, her black braid swinging over her shoulder as she turned to smile at him. "There you are. Training again?"_

 _"Mmhmm! I got it in the second ring this time!"_

 _"That's great!" Sauntering over to the counter, she lifted a colorful bag and held it towards him. "I stopped at a clothing shop on my way back and got some new clothes for your sister. Do you want to take it to her?"_

 _"Sure!" He grinned as he took the bag and bounded down the halls, dutifully heading for his sister's room. He stopped before a traditional shoji door with a simple painting of a tall black crane among tall stalks of bamboo, and he rapped on the wooden frame as he called, "Hey Akari, can I come in?"_

 _"Yeah, of course!" came a cheerful reply, and he smiled as he slid open the door. As usual his sister Akari sprawled in the center of the room with the TV on in the corner, lazily flipping through a picture book. Cool air blasted from fans aimed at the center of the room, and Akari had her dark brown hair tucked into a small bun at the nape of her neck. Rolling over to look at him, her eyes instantly darted to the bag and she sat up. "Masaru, what's that?"_

 _"Mom got you some new clothes," he said, and grinned as she promptly snatched it and began rooting through it. Lifting them out one by one, her dark eyes sparkled excitedly as she surveyed a black t-shirt with mesh netting around the collar._

 _"This looks so cool!" she squealed. "Just like a ninja would wear!" Turning it over, she then paused and frowned, her face furrowing in confusion. "Huh? The back's blank."_

 _"That's because I still need to take it to the tailor," their mother said from the doorway, watching them with an amused twinkle in her eye. "There's not much point in having the clan crest sewn on if it doesn't fit, is there?"_

 _"Huh, I guess not," Masaru mused, tugging at the high collar of his own shirt with a thoughtful look. Next to him Akari huffed, a dark gleam entering her eyes._

 _"Then if it fits, you'll take it to the tailor right away, right?" Even as she spoke she began wiggling out of her shirt, quickly tossing it aside to pull on the new one. It hung slightly loose on her tiny frame, just a little too large, but she beamed nonetheless. "Look, doesn't it look cool? I look like a real ninja!"_

 _"You do," their mother agreed with a smile._

 _._

Masaru's gaze darkened as he watched the memory play and he quickly averted his gaze to his teacup, his fingers curling around its side. Golden dragonflies danced along the surface of the porcelain, ornate wings fluttering and buzzing against a backdrop of black as they attempted to escape their painted confines.

"You seem troubled," a voice commented across from him and he frowned, not daring to raise his gaze.

"I am troubled," he admitted quietly, and lifted the cup to his mouth. Steam wafted from the brew as he sipped in silence, phantom tastes of flowery liquid imprinting upon Masaru's tongue. Drinking tea in his dreams had always felt odd. He knew it to be imaginary, the flavor lifted from memories. A single thought could change the taste, and even now he saw the color of the tea shift slightly to gain a more orange tint.

"Chamomile," his guest identified, and Masaru's eyes sharply rose to watch the person across from him closely. They had no particular emotion visible on their face, save for a slightly thoughtful curve to their mouth. "It helps calm nerves, does it not?"

"It does," Masaru confirmed quietly, keeping his expression aloof as he sipped from the liquid. "I discovered it a while back, but I don't drink it much for... reasons. I know it's not real, but... well, if I can imagine the taste, then maybe the placebo effect will extend to my brain, too. Ah," he paused, "Would you like any particular flavor? I can only influence it to resemble ones I know, but if you have any particular cravings...?"

The person across from him made a rumbling noise deep in his throat which could be either confirmation or amusement as he studied their teacup. A mural of a dark blue sky covered its surface, rabbits circling the grassy fields on the bottom and leaping towards a golden crescent moon.

"You are a good host, child," he declared, "But I hardly crave anything. I doubt I can even tell the difference between sweet and sour anymore."

"Is that so," Masaru murmured, and glanced downwards as another ghostly orb floated past playing another memory.

 _._

 _Cicadas screeched loudly outside the window as Masaru laid on his futon, eyes squeezed shut with his pillow stuffed over his head in a vain attempt to block the noise. Beside him Akari slept sprawled atop her blankets in nothing but a tank top and shorts, perfectly undisturbed. Sometimes he envied how deeply his twin could sleep, nothing short of the end of the world seemed able to stir her. Conversely, Masaru felt like he could be woken by the smallest of things: a change in breathing, a shift in temperature, creaks from the house settling... or an army of cicadas._

 _Resigning himself to a lack of sleep anytime soon, Masaru groaned and quietly rose, rubbing his eyes as he quietly plodded to the door. Feeling mildly thirsty, he made his way to the bathroom to get a glass of water, his bare feet making little sound as they padded softly against the floorboards. Muffled voices made him pause, recognizing the calm dulcet tones of his mother laced with a sharp edge that sent chills down his spine._

 _Gulping, he slowly turned around and headed back to his room. As he slid back into the door he found Akari sitting up, blinking at him groggily with a large yawn. "What are you doing?" she murmured sleepily, rubbing one of her eyes._

 _"Mom has someone over," he reported, and she frowned._

 _"Clan members?" she murmured, more to herself than him. "They won't fight again, will they?"_

 _"I don't know." He didn't mention the edge to his mother's voice even though he couldn't make out any words. Padding to his futon, he flopped onto his back and let his limbs splay freely, staring at the ceiling blankly. Several minutes passed without another word, the silence punctuated only by the shrill cries of the cicadas. "...The cicadas are really loud."_

 _Akari gave a small grunt of agreement, and her lips quirked into a smile. "Wanna play shiritori?"_

 _They ended up playing well into the night, their whispers drowning out the cries of cicadas and the muffled shouting coming from the kitchen._

 _._

His guest set his cup down, the clatter of porcelain against wood echoing through the void and briefly silencing the whispers. "While this small talk is admittedly pleasant, I do believe we should get to the point," he declared. "After all, our time is limited."

Masaru shrank slightly, his gaze casting downward once more. "I suppose so." His guest frowned slightly as the boy pointedly avoided looking at him, but he chose to ignore his discomfort.

"I have been observing this world for some time now," the man continued. "Even though my body lost its physical form, my consciousness persisted after death and I have watched the dawn of the shinobi world quite closely. I believe you are likely acquainted with the story of my sons?"

"Asura and Indra," Masaru murmured softly. The silvery inferno quieted around them and dwindled as he lowered his teacup, staring at his murky reflection inside the now green-tinted liquid. "Mom told us about them sometimes. About how you chose Asura over Indra, and Indra got upset... I didn't understand it back then, but..." He trailed off, and the man smiled faintly, his face growing noticeably softer.

"Indra had great natural power, but he lost his compassion and believed peace could only be achieved through force. Asura on the other hand achieved his own strength through hard work, and he never lost sight of the power of empathy. I hoped that he would help Indra regain his compassion, and then they would work together. But instead..."

"Their descendants carried it on for them," Masaru finished for him, raising his eyes to offer a feeble smile. "The Senju inherited the Will of Fire from Asura and Indra's descendants, the Uchiha got... the curse. The Curse of Hatred, I think? I think that's what my mom was hinting at, anyway," he added sheepishly. "She... didn't really make it too clear or obvious. I kinda figured it out after looking at her paintings and notes, I'm still trying to figure out if I'm interpreting some of it right. Like, that one painting of a rabbit with ten tails? Is that what the Ten Tailed Beast _actually_ looks like?"

The man chose to neither confirm nor deny his statement, instead giving a noncommittal hum. Weathered lips quirked upwards into a small smirk, his leathery skin crinkling around his eyes as amusement flickered across his features. "It impresses me how well informed your mother was about that time. Not many people know my son's names anymore, and most of their descendants didn't even know the origin of their rivalry. What do you think of it?"

Masaru smiled sheepishly, eyes darting to the side as his thumb rubbed circles over his own porcelain cup. "I... really didn't understand it. I was really young when mom told us about it. She said the Uchiha got the Curse of Hatred, but it was more complicated—"

"Stop," the man interrupted, and Masaru gave a small start, his mouth obediently clamping shut as he looked at his guest. Ringed eyes bore into him, their intent unreadable and sending shivers down his spine. "I do not care what your mother may have said," he stated bluntly. "I am asking what _you_ think of it." Masaru felt his polite smile fade, and his bangs fell into his eyes as he lowered his gaze once more.

 _._

 _"Sorry I'm the only one who came. Akari fell from a tree and hurt her leg and mom had to take her to the hospital."_

 _Masaru apologized to the grave with a small shrug, wiping down the stone reverently just as his mother had shown him. He'd never actually met his uncle, but he'd grown up hearing stories of him from their mother and visiting his grave. He'd died in the war, she told them, not even getting a chance to reach adulthood. It struck the twins as quite sad, so they made a point to visit the grave at least once a week and tell him about their day._

 _"She said she saw a cat up there," he explained, expanding on his previous sentence. "She thought it was stuck and she wanted to save it, but while she was climbing one of the branches broke and she fell." Silence followed, and then he paused before adding, "Two feet. Yeah, it was a really low branch. She was totally fine, just a bit dirty."_

 _Smirking, he set down the cloth and continued in a vaguely taunting tone. "So I bet you're wondering, 'huh, why's she at the hospital', right? Right? Well, see, when she fell..." He paused, waiting a moment for a dramatic silence to build, and then once he felt the tension had reached optimal capacity, "The cat jumped down on her and bit her. And so mom had to run her to the doctor because cat bites can actually be really dangerous!"_

 _Masaru grinned as he finished, proud of his storytelling ability. All good stories had a twist, and he thought he did a good job at surprising his audience with the actual reason for their hospital visit. Even if his audience was an empty grave._

 _With the story finished, he wrung the cloth in the bucket and resumed wiping the grave, musing aloud to himself as he did so. "You know, I didn't think that cat bites could be bad, but mom says that they can be really bad. Like, you might need to get your arm cut off, or you might die."_

 _The last part gave him pause, a thoughtful gleam entering his eyes. "...You know, maybe I should use cats when I become a ninja? I bet if they bite my enemies enough they'll die really fast! I won't even need kunai!"_

 _Distantly, Masaru thought he heard a quiet chuckle nearby. He decided it was his imagination, and not because he was definitely alone but instead because no one would ever laugh at such an awesome idea._

 _._

"It's all... complicated," he began quietly. "The way it's told, you'd think it meant the Uchiha are bad and the Senju are good. The Uchiha were selfish and prideful, and they churned out a lot of bad people. The Senju had three separate people become Hokage though, and the first two Hokage died to protect Konoha. But... It's not that simple."

As he spoke the dwindling flames surrounding the table regained their energy, the widespread blazes surging across the battlefield to converge in a single point next to them. Black and white twisted together to form a spiraling column of silver, the dual-colored moon hidden behind it as it sprouted high into the black void. Flickering arms of light extended from the pillar as it continued to twist and morph into a mockery of a tree, monochrome embers sprouting from the branches in an imitation of foliage.

"The world isn't black and white," Masaru stated firmly, his grip tightening on the teacup even as the blazing foliage grew thicker and blotted the sky. "It's gray. Your heritage doesn't automatically define you as good or bad. There were plenty of good people in the Uchiha, just like there were bad people in the Senju. Just because one came from Indra and one came from Asura doesn't mean they'll automatically be just like them."

Bulging spheres began protruding from the branches as he spoke, the ghostly white embers parting and curling away like a flower in bloom to reveal human figures nestled in the blossom. The corpses littering the battleground flickered from existence one by one as their faces reappeared within the petals, black eyes opening to gaze at the world.

One of the branches snaked out and trailed towards the tea table, the blaze blossom parting to reveal the silvery silhouette of a girl. Hair rippled and crackled behind her as she stepped forward to circle Masaru, black sparks curling into the crescent outline of a smile framing brilliant white flames for teeth. Silver light reflected on Masaru's face as the apparition hovered behind his shoulder, arms wrapping around him in a loose caress.

"We are all _your_ descendants," he declared, his eyes flickering and shining in the glow. "We are two branches of the same legacy, no matter how far apart we've grown. We all have the ability for the Will of Fire, and we all have the ability to bear the Curse of Hatred. In the end the paths we choose is up to us as individuals, not our heritages."

 _._

 _"And now make the most angry faces you can!"_

 _Masaru and Akari stared at their mother in silence, their irritation showing in their stubbornly blank expressions. Clicking her tongue, she snapped a photo anyway and lowered her camera as she mused, "Well, you got the glare down."_

 _"Mom, we're gonna be late," Akari deadpanned._

 _"Okay, okay, I get it. Sorry if I wanted to memorialize this special day so we can always remember it." The twins rolled their eyes and headed out the door with their bags, their mother trailing behind cheerfully. While they made a show of their exasperation, internally both were leaping in the air and squealing with joy. The academy! At long last they were going to the academy and were going to be ninja!_

 _"Ryoko?"_

 _A familiar voice drew them from their thoughts, and they spun to see a stern-looking man from their clan approaching. A young boy their age trailed closely behind him, peering at the twins curiously as the man addressed their mother. "It is good to see you. Are your children already of age for enrollment?" The question could be either an insult or just thoughtful musing; his bland tone made it hard to tell for sure._

 _"Of course," their mother replied primly, placing a hand on each of their shoulders as she spoke. "They turned six a few weeks ago. I expected you would have realized this," she added, her lips curling into a thin smile, "seeing as you're the clan head and should be keeping track of when someone is old enough to enroll." The man merely grunted, not bothering to make excuses for his surprise._

 _"Then perhaps they shall be in my son's class," he said, and turned sharp eyes on them. Masaru stiffened under his stern gaze, feeling as if the man was staring right into his soul. Akari, however, blithely ignored him and bounced over to the little boy, dipping in a polite bow._

 _"Hello, I'm Akari, and that's my brother Masaru," she greeted, gesturing to her twin as she spoke. "What's your name?" The boy shifted slightly, hesitating to answer, but his father tapped his shoulder and he quickly offered her a small, shy smile._

 _"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I-it's a pleasure to meet you!" His father grunted in approval, apparently satisfied by the greeting._

 _"I trust you two shall place a large amount of effort into your studies," he stated, prompting the twins to look at him curiously. "Your mother was one of our best kunoichi, so I expect you to follow her example and become a valuable claim to our name." Something about his tone prompted them to straighten up, their eyes flaring with determination as they looked back at him._

 _"Yes, sir!" they chorused in unison._

 _If Uchiha Ryoko's polite smile grew a bit more strained, no one noticed._

 _._

Across from him the Sage of Six Paths smiled, satisfaction flickering in his eyes.

"Well said, Uchiha Masaru. Well said."

* * *

 **"Love can be so twisted sometimes, but it can also be amazing. No wonder people write so many stories about it, the power it holds is so incredible."**

* * *

 **Author's note (9/18/17):**

Hey everyone, welcome to Echoes of Light! This is a fun project that's been taking up a lot of my free time lately, and I'm excited to share it with you.

Right now you're reading a revised version of the prologue. Originally it was just the flashbacks, but I realized that wasn't a very exciting way to start the story and decided to fix it up a bit. At the time of this note I've JUST posted Chapter 33, and I have the draft written up to at least Chapter 38. This has been in the works for a LONG time now (since Chapter 15!), but I've only just now settled on the best way to execute it.

The story will mostly follow Masaru, but in all honesty, he's not the exclusive focus. _Echoes of Light_ is about the Naruto universe as much as it is about him. His and Akari's existence causes a serious ripple effect on the world which spans a large swathe of the cast; some of the changes are small and indirect, but in other places they take a pretty direct role in causing some _massive_ changes.

I want to feature a quick disclaimer that Masaru and Akari are absolutely normal Uchiha kids. **They will not be overpowered and/or steal anyone's role from the canon plot.** They'll play important roles in the story, but they won't be the single driving force behind saving the world, or take the place of major characters like some OCs. (If it's any indication, I'm still not sure if they'd ever even activate the Mangekyo, and if Masaru does... well, he won't use it much, I can guarantee that.)

To be honest, even now I'm not 100% sure where the plot will go. Like the quote at the beginning, I have an idea of some big twists and events, but I'll pretty much be winging it. Most of my writing process for this story seems to just consist of trying to avoid or totally twist the usual cliches and tropes in this type of fan fics as much as possible. But there's a lot of fun twists. For the record, I consider Chapter 16 ("Life Has Twists") to be the chapter where I _really_ start to shatter canon, so if you have any doubts about the story, at least try to read up to there.

With all that said, whether you're a veteran reader or just discovering this for the first time, I hope you enjoy _Echoes of Light_!


	2. Chapter 1: Kumquats to Lemonade

Chapter 1

* * *

 _"Birth is like a lottery. Sometimes you win and you get millionaire parents who really sincerely care about you. Oh who am I kidding? That's pretty much a myth, no family is absolutely perfect! Either way, if life gives you kumquats, find a way to forcibly transform them into lemons so you can make some sweet lemonade."_

* * *

Sometimes, Masaru wondered about his clan.

Though he and Akari proudly displayed the red and white fan on their backs, their small family had never been particularly close to the rest of their clansmen. Their home rested on the edge of the Uchiha compound, the nearest two houses empty after the elderly man that lived in one died and the woman who occupied the other married and moved in with her new husband. Their mother rarely took them to clan events, and their extended relatives rarely visited their house.

That didn't mean they were ignorant of their heritage though.

As one of the founding clans of the village, the Uchiha clan had a powerful reputation attached to its name. The name alone seemed to demand respect and awe, even their enemies supposedly offering their skills grudging respect. Some people might even call them the shinobi equivalent of royalty, everyone vying to get into the clan so their offspring might inherit the incredibly powerful Sharingan.

On top of that, many Uchiha seemed to just be unnaturally beautiful and/or handsome.

Not all of them, mind you. Uchiha Tekka certainly didn't look handsome with his square jaw and heavy creases around the corners of his mouth. Uchiha Inabi might be considered pretty by conventional standards but he had a somewhat sleazy air to him which negated it, and Uchiha Yashiro squinted way too much and always looked like he was scowling.

Hmm. Maybe if they smiled more Uchiha would be considered pretty, but as it stood most of the clan seemed to have surgically altered their face to forever sever the muscles required to turn their frowns upside-down.

That said, Uchiha Masaru looked rather average compared to some of his relatives. He had unruly brown hair his mother liked to call "Indra's hair," two thick locks wrestled into cloth wrappings to keep them out of his face while they left the rest of his hair to its own devices. His face meanwhile was relatively plain and unnoticeable, at least as far as he was concerned. He grew up exposed to natural Uchiha looks, so he'd grown a bit desensitized to it. Non-Uchiha might think differently.

Alas, he never really had a chance to find out though, as fate saw fit to dump him in the same class as Sasuke.

Masaru and Akari never really spoke to their distant cousin at school, partially because they were focused on their schoolwork, but also because Sasuke spent most lunches hiding from fan girls. Their determination and persistence scared Masaru, motivating him to skulk in the background and go as unnoticed as possible. On the other hand, it thoroughly annoyed Akari since some of the girls lagged in their own studies because of their obsession.

Uchiha Akari had always wanted to be a ninja. She had grown up hearing how awesome her mother was. She never heard any actual stories because Ryoko would interrupt her relatives before they could share them, much to her annoyance, but the awe and respect her mother demanded spoke for itself. Even Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha clan, had commented on her skills, so that had to mean something!

So to see their classmates acting so immature irritated her immensely.

"Why do they even want a boyfriend so bad!" she grumbled to her mother once. "Boys are so icky!"

"You say that now," Ryoko demurred, "But when you're older—"

"No! I won't like boys when I'm older! They're gross and smell bad! Girls are way better!" Their mother blinked once at the claim, staring at her blankly, and then smiled and said okay.

Still, her mother provided no helpful input on her current problem, so Akari was stuck watching her fawning classmates day after day. Masaru could see her resentment grow each passing day, her black eyes smoldering. Sometimes, he thought he saw a flicker of red in them, and he fleetingly wondered if she might activate the Sharingan in her annoyance over the situation. When he suggested that to his mother, she laughed.

"The sharingan _is_ triggered by strong emotions, particularly negative ones," she mused with a mirthful twinkle in her eye. "If she activated it over annoyance at someone else's fangirls, that would be hilarious and revolutionary. I'd take fangirls any day over near-death experiences."

"Near-death experiences?" Masaru squeaked, eyes widening, and Ryoko stiffened.

"...Don't you have a worksheet to do?"

Yes he did a worksheet to do, and she never did answer his questions later, but back to the point. By the end of the second month Akari had deemed her fellow future kunoichi to be woefully incompetent, and she resolved to fix that. Initial attempts to convince the girls to try hard didn't work out well. Some of the bullies openly scorned her diplomatic attempts and called her a goody two-shoes, while others just ignored her.

Then a few fangirls accused her of being after Sasuke-kun's heart, and her social life turned to hell.

"I am going to murder them," she declared to Masaru flatly. He replied with a traditional Uchiha 'hn' response, more interested in his bento than his sister's ranting. Ooh, mom packed salmon onigiri today. Nice. Nibbling on it like a hamster, he hummed and nodded at the appropriate points as his sister ranted on about her classmates' latest misdeeds, stabbing at her own food angrily.

Funnily enough, before joining the ninja academy he'd never even seen her get angry. It was strangely relieving to know she was capable of it, her relentless cheeriness and puppy dog pouts wouldn't help much on the battlefield. It got annoying to hear it day after day though, and he was starting to worry it might become a permanent part of her personality.

Feeling a bit fed up, he cut her off by jabbing her forehead with his chopsticks, bits of rice sticking to it. "Stop thinking so straight," he chided, offering her a bland glare. "If your current strategy isn't working, then try something else." Staring at him wide-eyed, she firmly clamped her jaw shut and turned away with a huff. Masaru just shrugged and returned his full attention to his bento, missing the calculating gleam that soon entered his sister's eyes.

Walking home after classes was usually a quiet affair. Sasuke tended to stay late to practice in the training grounds at the academy, but the twins would go straight home to practice under their mother's watchful gaze. However, that day, Akari broke the pattern. After class she instead skipped to the training grounds, sneaking up on Sasuke and watching him curiously. Masaru trailed her and hung in the back, watching her with a bemused expression.

"Sasuke-kun," she called, her voice dripping sweetness. He flinched and turned to look at her, a slight grimace on his face.

"What?" he asked shortly, clearly anticipating some fangirlish screeching. Fluttering to his side, she giggled as she looked at him, rocking on her feet with her hands folded behind her back. Several sets of eyes instantly burned in her direction, futilely attempting to set her aflame.

"You're really good at throwing," she giggled, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, looking away. Smile growing, she then glided closer and pressed a finger under his chin, prompting him to snap his gaze back to her with his eyes wide with shock. She prettily tilted her head at him, leaning in a bit closer as the tension emanating from their observers grew more palpable.

"But I'm better," she declared sweetly, and then pulled away and spun around, flinging the kunai she'd kept hidden behind her back. It soared through the air and hit the target right on the bulls eye, earning small sounds of surprise and awe from her classmates. Skipping back from a surprised Sasuke, she offered him a more mischievous grin, all traces of the lovestruck facade she'd presented wiped away to be replaced by a more feral expression.

"You know, if you have the Uchiha name, you need to be more than just a pretty face," she declared, her voice taunting and challenging anyone to disagree. "We Uchiha are warriors, the best of the best. Even the civilian Uchiha women are badass, don't you think?"

"Uh, y-yeah," he agreed, slowly nodding his head. "They are..."

"I am so glad you agree. Have fun training!" With that, Akari spun around and walked away, leaving a rather shell-shocked Sasuke in her wake as he tried to process what just happened. He glanced at an equally surprised Masaru, and the brown-haired Uchiha boy offered a small shrug and smile before chasing after his sister. Akari waited for him near the front gates, a smug smirk on her face.

"Did you just flirt with Uchiha Sasuke in front of his fan girls?" Masaru asked, and she snorted.

"Please, boys are icky. I just needed him to confirm that Uchiha women are all badass and know how to fight." He paused, shooting her a bemused glance.

"...Why?"

"You'll see," she sang, skipping off towards home.

And the next day, Masaru _did_ see. Word of the brief exchange quickly spread among the various classes, and as he walked through the halls he caught wisps of conversations among his female peers about "strength" and "accuracy" and "ideal wife". That day he noticed his female classmates seemed a bit more focused on the lecture than usual, and during the practical parts of the class they placed more effort.

By the end of the week, he finally figured out what she did.

"Akari is an evil genius."

Masaru sat in front of his uncle's grave with his arms crossed, a fresh bouquet of flowers resting atop the stone. Normally he'd visit on Saturdays and wipe down the stone, but after realizing the extent of her evil genius he had felt compelled to visit the grave and share his newest observation a day early. Besides, he'd already cleaned the grave on Monday, that visit prompted by the weird confrontation-flirty-thing between her and Sasuke.

"Remember how I told you about that weird kinda-flirty thing with Sasuke after school?" he asked. "Well, it turns out she was making a big scene to get him to say that Uchiha women are all strong in front of his fan girls. And I guess I forgot that if they marry him they'd become Uchiha women too, since girls take on the guy's last name. Unless the girl is an Uchiha women, and then the guy takes on the Uchiha name? Why is that? It's kind of weird. Maybe I'll ask mom."

Pausing, he shrugged and continued, "Sorry, I went random. Anyway, basically, Akari made the girls think they have to be really good kunoichi if they want to marry Sasuke, so now they're putting in a ton of effort. And none of them figured it out, not even Sasuke. So, yeah. She's officially an evil genius. Really glad she's on my side." He got up and dusted his pants, shrugging at the gravestone. "I should get back now, I have homework to do. I just wanted to fill you in. I'll see you later!"

He bowed to the grave and headed home.

* * *

One unpredictable factor in their class was the presence of Uzumaki Naruto. Ostracized by everyone for reasons largely unknown beyond "adults don't like him" and known for being a slacker, Naruto often resorted to pranking to garner attention, quickly becoming the scourge of the academy teachers. Classmates alternated between laughing at his practical jokes and following their parents' examples of silently scorning him, his standing in the classroom seeming to fluctuate from day to day. Outside the classroom he was almost always alone though, even the teachers seeming to avoid him.

While most seemed to view him with negative outlooks, not many kids went out of their way to mess with him directly. Naruto had a vengeful streak a mile wide, and combined with his penchant for pranks he proved a nasty enemy to make. The few kids who'd tried to bully him directly came to class with technicolor hair and skin colors after falling victim to paint bombs, or found their bag's contents liberally bathed in glitter. An unspoken rule existed among his peers to never get on his bad side.

Unfortunately, Masaru ended up on the sour end of it towards the end of their first year after accidentally knocking over Naruto in class. The blonde had been holding a bucket of paint for his latest prank and it promptly splattered over his front, earning jeering laughs from the rest of the class. In retrospect, Masaru probably should have apologized, but the thing is, he really wasn't good at talking to people. There was a reason he spent so much time at his uncle's gravesite, he had absolutely no idea how to interact with anyone who wasn't his mom or sister.

So yeah. Masaru just did the stupid thing and raced back to his back without a word. Looking back, he could see how that might make it look more like it was done on purpose rather than the honest accident it was.

So when he went to the classroom to get his lunch the next day and found Naruto bending over his open bento with a bottle of some undeniably yucky-looking gunk, he didn't really feel that surprised. Glancing at the bottle, the bento, and then the faded paint stain still faintly visible on his shirt, Masaru raised his gaze to stare the frozen blond straight in the eye and declared flatly, "Yeah, I really can't blame you." Then he promptly stalked over and snatched his bento away, and proceeded to take a large chomp out of the tainted onigiri.

Which was how he found himself walking home early. According to the nurse the stuff Naruto sprinkled on the rice wouldn't start to kick in until later, but he'd probably want to be home with unhindered access to a toilet when it did. Reaching his house, he paused outside to brace himself for his mother's reaction before opening the door. He expected a lot of things: angry yelling, confused questioning about why he was home early, maybe some concern or accusations about him ditching class.

What he didn't expect was to see his mother abruptly flash into the hallway before him, eyes blazing crimson as she brandished a kunai.

Masaru's breath caught in his throat at the sight, his eyes locked onto her Sharingan, his body locking up in shock. Despite being an Uchiha he'd only seen the clan's famed kekkei genkai a handful of times, and he'd certainly never seen it on his mother. Three tomoe orbited her pupils against a backdrop of red, the angry hue adding to the ferocious scowl on her face as she glared at him. As her eyes flicked over him her expression quickly softened though, the red bleeding away until her eyes regained their normal black hue.

"Masaru?" she choked, lowering the kunai. Frowning, she quickly closed the gap between them and knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Masaru, what are you doing home? Did something happen? Where's Akari?"

"I-I..." He trailed off, still too shocked to respond. The overwhelming concern and panic on her face threw him off, and it only grew worse as his silence continued.

"Masaru, it's okay," she said, trying to sound reassuring. "You don't need to be scared, you can tell me anything. I'm your mother, it's my job to protect you and your sister, right?" Masaru couldn't find his voice so he settled for nodding, and she offered a feeble smile. "Good. Now, can you _please_ tell me what's wrong?" He fidgeted slightly, feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"Naruto put a lax'tib in my lunch so the nurse sent me home early!" he blurted. Silence fell, his mother's face smoothing into a stony mask as she processed his words. Masaru felt his own face heat up, wondering if maybe she'd explode after all.

Then he heard distinct laughter from behind her and jumped with a yelp.

Startled, he swiftly darted back and peered around the edge of the doorway, his gaze wary and loaded with suspicion. A teenage boy with curly black hair stood hunched over in the back of the hall, his whole body shaking with loud, raucous laughter. "Laxatives?" he wheezed. "Oh, man, that's a good one!" Masaru just stared at the stranger in silence, shooting his mother a hesitant look. Ryoko no longer had that scary look on her face, instead replacing it with a small smile that seemed to quiver.

It did not ease his nerves when she also broke into hysterical laughter.

"Mom?" he stammered, feeling increasingly alarmed and confused. Maybe he should be offended that she appeared to be laughing at his expense, but he was way too frightened by her insane cackling to care about that. As her laughs tapered away Ryoko shook her head and smiled at him, her eyes soft and fond. Then something flickered in her face, and she launched forward to pull him into a tight embrace, making him stiffen in shock.

"Masaru," she murmured, rubbing his back gently as she squeezed him. "Oh, Masaru, I love you so, so much..." Masaru just stood there in silence, too overwhelmed by the violent and extreme shifts in her mood over the past three minutes to react anymore. Vaguely he noted the stranger had stopped laughing, and when he glanced over he saw the teen watching them with a faint frown.

Later, as Masaru holed up in the bathroom in utter misery, he still didn't know if he should mention the incident to Akari.


	3. Chapter 2: Candy from Strangers

Chapter 2

* * *

 _"Paranoia is a totally natural and healthy instinct for a ninja. Never take candy from a stranger, or you might end up on the ground with a hole melted into your throat. Also don't show off and monologue about your awesome moves, no matter how fun it might feel to gloat in your opponent's face. That's like an evil villain monologuing about their evil plan to the hero before killing them, it just gives them time to find the flaw and foil it AND escape the death trap."_

* * *

One day shortly after their second year at the academy began, Sasuke invited Masaru and Akari over to his house after class. "Why the sudden invite?" Akari asked, taking point like usual. Sasuke huffed lightly and looked away, cheeks puffing out in a childish show of reluctance.

"Father wants me to work on my taijutsu by sparring more," he explained. "I don't really know anyone at school well enough to invite them over, and you guys are the only other Uchiha my age."

Sasuke's reasoning made sense. All three of the Uchiha children had distanced themselves from their classmates, though each for their own reasons. Sasuke focused more on training than making friends, Akari had a mutual grudge with most of the girls in their class due to her low opinion of their priorities, and Masaru... still could not interact well with people. Since they usually walked to school together, he felt marginally more comfortable around Sasuke than others, though still not enough to actually _talk_ to him.

However, the prospect of going to Sasuke's house and meeting his family petrified him.

Uchiha Fugaku terrified him. Their brief interaction on the first day of school still gave him _actual_ nightmares, visions of his cold stony gaze waking him on more than one occasion. Beyond that, everyone knew Sasuke's older brother Itachi was a prodigy. While Masaru had actually never met the Uchiha heir due to their family's isolated location, the stories he heard left him with images of a terrifying giant of a youth with spiky hair, bulging muscles and constantly active Sharingan. As for his mother...

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Akari said before Masaru could begin to speculate on Mikoto, thoroughly disproving all theories about twin telepathy in the process. Seeing the panicked look he shot her, she shrugged and said, "Come on Masa, you know you need a better partner!"

"I guess," he sighed, accepting his fate.

And thus the Uchiha twins found themselves visiting the main household for the first time.

"Mom, I'm home!" Sasuke called as they entered the house. "I brought Akari-san and Masaru-san, too!" As if summoned by magic words Uchiha Mikoto appeared in the hallway before them, offering the three children a pleasant smile. A single glance made it clear that Sasuke took strongly after her in looks, his basic facial structure overwhelmingly similar to hers and his hair clearly inheriting its blue-tinted onyx shade from her, though his was slightly darker.

"Hello Akari-chan, Masaru-kun," she greeted warmly. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Again?" Akari asked, brow furrowing as she and Masaru tried to recall their previous meeting, and Mikoto laughed softly.

"Oh, don't try to remember. Last time I saw you, you weren't even two. Ryoko-chan talks about you quite often." They perked up at the choice of honorific and the word "often". Evidently their mother must be relatively close to the Uchiha head's wife, though that only raised the question of why they had never met her. Waving them in, she said, "Come inside, I was just making a snack for Sasuke. I can get something for you too, if you want."

"I'm not sharing my tomatoes," Sasuke warned, shooting them a glare, but Akari dismissed him easily.

"I can settle for an apple or orange or something," she said, and Mikoto nodded.

"Alright. Lucky for you, I have a fresh bushel of apples, just delivered to the market today. And what about you, Masaru?" Her gaze then moved to Masaru, making him unintentionally flinch. Biting his lip, he hesitated before speaking.

"Um... Do you have any peaches?" he ventured, and she rewarded him with a kind smile as she nodded.

"We do. Come into the kitchen and I'll get it all out for you." Masaru breathed a quiet sigh of relief as her attention shifted away from him, trailing behind his sister and Sasuke into the kitchen. As they scooted into the chairs around the table Sasuke shot him a thoughtful glance.

"You're really timid, aren't you?" he asked, a hint of disdain in his voice. The brown-haired Uchiha boy blinked before abruptly straightened in his seat, all hesitance vanishing from his face as he stared levelly at Sasuke.

"I'm not timid," he replied flatly. "I'm shy. There's a difference." The bluntness of his words obviously caught Sasuke off-guard, the darker-haired boy blinking in surprise before frowning.

"There is? They seem like the same thing to me." Even as he spoke Masaru shook his head though.

"Being shy means you just can't talk to strangers well," Akari piped up. "But being timid would apply to everything you do. Masaru is not timid." Timidity would be a fatal flaw for a ninja, making them hesitate at crucial moments or overwhelm them with self-doubt. Masaru didn't have that. He might not be a people person, but he knew how to handle himself in a fight.

Beside them Mikoto made a thoughtful sound as she washed off three pieces of fruit, wiping them off with a towel before serving them to each child. "Akari-chan's right. While normally being shy is part of being timid, that doesn't necessarily mean a shy person has low confidence." Handing Masaru his peach, she smiled as she added, "There are plenty of ninja who are excellent on the battlefield, but don't know how to have a normal conversation about the weather. I think as long as Masaru-kun can fight, he'll be fine."

"Oh, he can fight," Akari muttered, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she chuckled. " _He can fight_." Her words had an ominous ring that made Sasuke frown, shooting Masaru a skeptical glance, but Masaru just shrugged and chomped into his peach, pointedly looking away from him.

When they moved to the backyard to begin training, Akari's meaning quickly became apparent. Sliding into the beginning stance, an utter calm washed over Masaru as his features smoothed into a blank mask, his posture loose and relaxed yet ready to pounce. While Akari had a natural aptitude for handling weapons, Masaru found his knack in sparring matches. Taijutsu and fighting in general came to him naturally, slipping into a strange trance-like state where his mind blanked out everything else.

Lunging at Sasuke, he had little trouble scoring the first win. His abrupt change in demeanor caught the other boy off-guard and allowed him to easily sweep his legs out from under him, Sasuke falling onto his back with a startled yelp. Now aware of Masaru's prowess, Sasuke approached the second match more seriously than the last, his gaze wary as he watched Masaru. When Masaru made the first move, this time he responded, blocking the punch. Punch, block, block, kick. Spin, jump, block, kick. The boys fell into a steady rhythm, endlessly exchanging blow after blow, until finally Masaru spun in a roundhouse kick before sharply jabbing his elbow into Sasuke's rib. The blow sent the dark-haired boy skidding back with a startled cry, gasping for breath as he clutched his stomach.

"H-how?" he sputtered when he got his breath back.

"Most kids at school are still doing punches and kicks," Masaru replied with a shrug, the words coming more easily than usual in his battle-induced calmness. "But your whole body's a weapon. You gotta remember that." Sasuke now stared at him with slight awe, while Akari just snorted in amusement.

"That is correct. In battle, it is important to be aware of every move you can make." A new voice spoke up behind them, making Masaru whirl around in a defensive stance and Akari straighten up. Sasuke, however, instantly lit up, his face bursting into a giant grin he never showed at school.

"Nii-san! You're home!" He launched past the twins to throw himself at the boy standing in the back door of the house, wrapping his arms around his waist. The older boy smiled fondly at the embrace, bending slightly to return it briefly before gently prying him off.

"I just returned a few minutes ago. Mother said you had some friends over." His eyes glided towards the twins as he spoke, making them stiffen. Remembering their presence, Sasuke quickly tore himself away from his brother, presumably to spare his pride.

"Uchiha Akari," Akari introduced, dropping her torso in a deep bow. "It is an honor to meet you, Itachi-sama." Blinking at her in shock, Masaru turned back and quickly mimicked the gesture, dropping into a bow.

"U-Uchiha Masaru." Not sure what else to say but figuring he should say _something_ , he stammered a lame, "Hello, Itachi-san— _sama_!" He harshly corrected himself, his face turning red as he dipped his head further in shame. "S-sorry!"

"It's fine," Itachi chuckled, clearly amused. "I actually dislike having such formal honorifics attached to my name, so calling me Itachi-san is fine." Nodding, the twins straightened up to face him more fully, and Masaru found his earlier preconceptions of the clan's heir completely destroyed. Rather than a muscle-bound giant, Uchiha Itachi was actually a rather small boy, not even in his teens yet. His face even held a faint feminine quality which was only heightened by his smooth, smoky-black hair, which he pulled into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Okay, this might explain why so many people rabidly claimed the Uchiha to be ridiculously beautiful.

"Your fighting style is quite impressive for your age," he commented to Masaru. "It's a bit rough around the edges though. Some of your attacks had too much motion involved. For example, you tended to throw your entire body into your punches."

"But... isn't that a good thing?" Masaru frowned, puzzled by the comment. "I mean, then it gets stronger, right?"

"Yes, to an extent," Itachi agreed easily. "But, what if your opponent doesn't try to block it?"

"...Huh?" Rather than respond right away Itachi stepped onto the grass, assuming the spot Sasuke had formerly occupied. The trio of Uchiha children watched him with rapt attention, Sasuke joining Akari on the sidelines.

"Try punching me, right now." Still confused but now a bit curious, Masaru complied without any further prodding. He didn't see a need to hesitate or question the order, especially since Itachi's reputation suggested he could more than take care of himself. Sure enough, before his fist could make contact Itachi swiftly swept to the side in a distinct gray blur of movement.

Eyes widening with surprise, Masaru yelped as the momentum of his punch carried him forward, flinging him to the ground face-first. Rolling onto his back, he sat up and rubbed his nose with a wince, gritting his teeth in pain. "Ow..."

"As you can see, all your opponent has to do is dodge," Itachi noted, extending a hand to him. Hesitating, Masaru took it and the older boy easily pulled him to his feet, explaining all the while, "Throwing all your weight into the attack will make it stronger, but that makes it harder to control yourself and stop. Beyond dodging, they could also simply be using a bunshin or genjutsu, which would make the attack ineffective and nothing more than a waste of energy."

"Right," Masaru said slowly, nodding in understanding. Folding his arms, he tipped his head back to look at the sky and mused thoughtfully, "And now that I think about it, I guess most people would try to dodge instead of blocking attacks."

"They would?" Akari and Sasuke perked up at the thought, and Masaru shrugged.

"Our clan has a giant fireball as part of our coming of age ceremony," he deadpanned. "How would you block it?"

The others' silence proved his point.

"You're correct about that, too," Itachi chuckled, his lips quirking in amusement at Masaru's wording. "In real battles, even with the Sharingan it's hard to know what your opponent's ninjutsu may do. Getting hit by an unknown technique of any sort can be lethal, and even if it's purely taijutsu your opponent's clothing or skin may be soaked in poison. Generally it's better to not get hit at all than blocking."

"But then why do our taijutsu classes at school only deal with blocks?" Sasuke muttered, frowning.

"Basic dodging can't be easily taught beyond throwing balls at you, and formal defensive maneuvers involving dodging can be fairly complex. You've only just begun your second year at the Academy, so your taijutsu classes will focus on the basics first. I expect you'll start to move on within the next month or so, so you can begin sparring. As it stands, I'd say you and Masaru-kun are likely already ahead of the curriculum. Although," he added, glancing at Akari, "I can't say the same for Akari-san since I haven't seen her sparring."

Akari perked up, and quickly moved to rectify that by challenging Sasuke. In the end, Itachi deemed her a close second to his brother in terms of skill, but declared Masaru to be the best.

* * *

When they told their mother about training at Sasuke's house she'd been initially surprised but quickly voiced her approval. "Well, Sasuke and Itachi are good boys, so it would be good for you all to be friends," she told them. Despite that and the continued training sessions, their relationship didn't seem to fall into friendship yet.

Sometimes at school Sasuke would join Masaru and Akari for lunch, but more often than not they didn't interact there. Akari couldn't have lunch with him without strengthening the loathing of their classmates, the girls convinced she also secretly pined after Sasuke despite her loud declarations to the contrary. Meanwhile, Masaru still floundered at any form of social interaction outside sparring, so their few attempts at conversation without his sister as a buffer always turned out awkwardly.

So usually they ate separately from Sasuke, and lately separate from each other as well. Surprisingly, Akari began spending more time with Hyuuga Hinata, the shy and definitely timid heiress to the Hyuuga clan. Given her stance on the rest of her female classmates' work ethic the burgeoning friendship surprised Masaru, but Akari defended her new friend easily.

"She's a clan heiress to a really stuck-up clan that's probably even stricter than ours," she pointed out. "You'd probably be the same way if you were her." Masaru thought on it briefly and then agreed she was probably right. So he spent an increasing number of lunches alone, while Akari worked on encouraging her friend to grow a stronger backbone.

Oddly enough, Masaru might be on the path to being friends with Naruto. Apparently he'd earned the blonde's approval or respect or something when he ate the laxative-drenched onigiri right in front of him. Don't ask Masaru how, he still didn't know how to view that whole interaction. Since then Naruto shot friendly smiles his way more often, though he never made any moves to approach beyond that. Masaru had no idea how to make any further progress from there though.

Did Masaru want to be friends with Naruto? Maybe. The blonde certainly had an amusing mischief streak, and beyond the pranks and immature boasting he seemed nice enough. Surprisingly, his loud nature didn't really bother Masaru as much as one might expect given his shy nature. In some ways it actually reminded him of his mother, Ryoko.

 _Hmm..._

"So you think you might want to be friends with Naruto-kun?" she asked when Masaru approached her for advice. He hesitated before nodding, deciding that yes, he _did_ want to be friends with Naruto. Maybe. He'd just like a friend, period, and Naruto probably wanted one too so why not him? Frowning, Ryoko tapped her chin with a thoughtful look before slowly saying, "I'll... need to think about it, okay?" She ruffled his hair which elicited an annoyed cry from him before she retreated to her private study, much to his disappointment.

"Why do all the adults act so wary of him?" Masaru asked his uncle's grave two days later. "All the other kids avoid him because their parents tell them to, but I don't know why. And even mom said 'I need to think about it' with this really serious look on her face. Is there really something so bad about Na—"

"Oh, there you are, Masaru." His mother's cheery voice abruptly cut off his musings, and he turned to see her standing behind him, holding a bouquet of flowers. "Cleaning your uncle's grave again?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding. Ryoko's smile softened, her eyes warm as she studied him.

"You're such a nice boy," she murmured, kneeing in front of the grave to place the bouquet before the tombstone. "Akari-chan comes here too, you know, at least once a week. She asked me about lighting incense here, once." Incense? Masaru tilted his head, considering it. Burning incense was a traditional way to honor the dead, yet they'd never actually done it for their uncle. Maybe they should, but if they did it outdoors and it started raining it might put out the fire, which... might be bad luck? He wasn't sure, he didn't know much about burning incense since they never did it before.

"Maybe we could build a shrine in our house?" he muttered to himself. Ryoko paused, shooting him a surprised look before her face softened once more.

"You two," she breathed, her lips slowly lifting into a smile. "You two are so..." She trailed off, a misty look entering her eyes. Three seconds later, Masaru found himself trapped in another strangely tight and affectionate embrace far more intense than the usual hugs, leaving him frozen with no idea on what to do. Should he return it? Pat her back?

When she pulled away he resisted the urge to sigh in relief but then paused as she took his hand and pressed a few coins into it. "Buy some candy before school on Monday and give some to Naruto-kun," she instructed him, meeting his confused gaze with a fond smile. "He can't come over to our house, but I'm sure he'll be happy enough being your friend at school."

Masaru blinked at her in surprise, startled by the sudden approval. "O...kay?"

And so on Monday he found himself facing a rather suspicious blonde, one hand extended with an offering of a single, strawberry-flavored jelly. Naruto scrutinized the red-wrapped candy suspiciously, eventually turning wary blue eyes onto Masaru. "What's the catch?" he asked, and Masaru blinked.

"What?"

"You're giving me candy," Naruto pointed out. "No one just gives me candy for no reason." Crossing his arms, he squinted at him and asked, "Do you need help pranking someone or something?"

"What? N-no!" Masaru said quickly, shaking his head frantically as he stammered, "There's—no catch. None. It's just—candy." Naruto still glared at him suspiciously, and after a while he sighed.

"Okay, what'd you do to it?" Once again Masaru squawked an eloquent "what" and the whiskered boy continued, "You're giving me candy with nothing to gain, so _obviously_ you did _something_ to it. So, what is it? Covered it in salt and tossed it in the microwave so it'd melt onto it? Switched it out with some homemade candy made with chili powder?"

Masaru stared at him for approximately five seconds as he processed the sheer extent of Naruto's paranoia, which frankly no six-year-old should have. Then, he closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose before opening his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?"

That Saturday, Akari laughed her heart out as Masaru spent a majority of the visit to their uncle's grave ranting about the numerous injustices and unfair treatment Naruto had faced in his short life.

Despite all this, Masaru and Naruto still didn't become instant best friends and spend every day together. Discovering shy and quiet Uchiha Masaru did in fact have a backbone had changed Naruto's entire view of the boy, namely to "scary" and "pants-droppingly terrifying when he's mad" and " _maybe_ has a split personality".

They did talk more though, and Masaru was pleased to note they managed to have a couple conversations without getting too awkward.

But, hey.

 _Progress_.


	4. Chapter 3: Mother Knows Best(?)

( **Author's N** **ote** : Thanks for reading so far! I'll probably post another chapter sometime this week, since the draft is pretty far ahead. On that note, today I have an important question which will define the future of the story: **if the twins were to become ninja, would you prefer them to be on teams with canon characters or OCs**? I refuse to give spoilers, but I'm stalling a bit on that specific part and can't write much further until I decide. If I used a team with canon characters, I may go with major or at least relatively significant characters, or just use elevated background characters who never appear outside a couple chapters. I'm also a bit torn on who the jounin sensei would be, I'd love some input from you guys.

And a more fun and _purely_ hypothetical question: if the twins were to be shoehorned into canon teams by replacing one of the characters (a la almost every self-insert with Sakura and Team Seven), which teams do you think would be the most fun? Personally I think Akari would fit in really well with Team Eight if she took Hinata's place, while Masaru would be traumatized after one hour with Team Gai no matter who he replaced. Pretty sure only Tenten wouldn't leave him in desperate need of a therapist.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!)

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

 _"Mother knows best. Unless she doesn't. Moms aren't omnipotent, they're flawed human beings just like everyone else. They just hope they know best, because if it turns out they don't, then their kids are totally screwed. Verdict's still out on my mom."_

* * *

"I think my body runs hotter than everyone else's," Akari complained with a scowl as she sprawled on her futon wearing nothing but a tank top and shorts. Sweat visibly glistened on her skin even in the dimness of their bedroom, her brown hair a tangled mess from tossing and turning so much. Masaru suspected he didn't look much better, as he had stripped down to his boxers and thrown his blankets aside, and he _still_ felt too hot. An abnormal heat wave had struck Konoha for the past two days, and now at three AM both twins felt like their room had turned into a sauna. Fans simply didn't seem to be cutting it anymore, and their house was an older one and thus tragically lacked a central air system that some of the newer houses possessed.

"Maybe we should ask mom to get an air conditioner thing for our room," he suggested, fiddling with his hair with a small scowl. Currently the unruly locks reached his shoulders, and with the heat wave the extra warmth on his neck was unbearable. Sweat rendered half the matted locks sticky and damp, the moisture probably adding to its weight. At least Akari could tie her hair into buns or pigtails, but Masaru simply lacked that option. Wrestling it into submission with a brush proved futile, he'd actually broken a couple brushes, so right now his hair was a giant tangled mess that was simply too thick to tie up.

Maybe he should cut it. Some ninja cut their hair with kunai, right? Considering it, he tugged at a strand towards the side of his head to study it thoughtfully only to wince when half his hair lifted with it with a painful pinch to his skull. _Dear kami, it was worse than he thought._ He could not possibly cut it when it was this tangled and unruly, there was no way to make sure it turned out even remotely nice and even. Hell, at this rate they might have to shave it all off and go with a buzz cut. His hair seemed to be just a single mass at this point, there might be no hope.

"Hair trouble?" Akari teased, and he shot her a dark scowl.

"I'm shaving it off in the morning," he declared flatly, and his mood worsened when sister giggled. Shaving his head did not appeal to him one bit. Masaru _liked_ his hair, he thought it was the only cool thing about his physical features. His mind wandered back to his early childhood, seated on a bench with his sister as they watched their mother paint. Elegant, simple brush strokes coalesced to form a distinct figure, a regal-looking male in a high-collared kimono with heavily lined eyes and a cool and stoic frown.

 _"Indra's hair," Ryoko mused aloud, adding thick strokes to form a tangle of unruly locks to frame his face. "You have Indra's hair, Masa-kun."_

 _"No fair, I want cool hair like Indra's too," Akari whined, tugging at her pigtails. Compared to the cool portrait of the super-powerful mythical son of the Sage of Six Paths, her straight brown hair felt absolutely lame in comparison. Ryoko offered her a smile, her eyes twinkling with amusement._

 _"Oh, shush, your hair is beautiful," Ryoko commented, shooting her an amused smile. "And besides, in a few years, your brother will probably be jealous of you."_

 _"I doubt it," Akari huffed, crossing her arms with a pout._

Of course, as always, Ryoko was right. Right now Masaru absolutely envied his twin sister's cooperative hair. Funny how he had the most hair troubles of them when usually girls were the ones fussy about that stuff. Frankly, at this point he figured the only reason his classmates didn't mock him for his hair was because it _looked_ cool. Metaphorically of course. If it was _literally_ cool, he wouldn't be having this issue.

In the present his sister rose to her feet, drawing him away from his thoughts. "I'm gonna get some water from the kitchen."

"Get me one too," Masaru requested, flopping onto his back. His sister shot him an unamused look.

"Why can't you get a glass for yourself?" she questioned, and he waved a hand dismissively.

"I'm too hot to move. Besides, you're way quieter than me." Recently the frequency of late-night visitors had increased again after a long period of decline, so whenever the twins had to leave their room at night they tried to make as little noise as possible. In terms of stealth Akari had Masaru beat by a long shot, fully aware of the loudest squeaky spots on the floor boards between their room and the kitchen.

"Stop being a baby. If I can find the energy to move, so can you. No one's here anyway."

"How do you even know no one's here? They never make any noise, they're obviously ninja." Smirking lazily, she lifted a finger to her lips and winked, her eyes sparkling with smug satisfaction.

"Secret," she whispered.

That still didn't stop him from throwing a pillow at her face.

Sprawling on his futon while he waited for his sister to return, Masaru just scowled at the ceiling, mentally grumbling to himself. He loved Akari, but sometimes she really got on his nerves. She had a lot of little secrets like that, just little things she hinted at but never talked about. Masaru knew for a fact that she did not go to a friend's house almost every day after school like she told Ryoko, it's not like any of their classmates would invite her. Whenever he tried to follow her she managed to notice him, sometimes she even led him on wild goose chases. It really annoyed him.

It suddenly occurred to Masaru that he might be more irritable than usual right now because he was just too hot. Maybe he should ask their mom about moving to a house with central air.

The click of the door opening broke him from his thoughts, and he turned to face Akari expectantly. "Do you think we should move?" he asked, but then paused when he saw her hands were empty. "Akari? Where's the water?"

"I didn't get any," she whispered, stalking over to her futon and plopping down. Alarm bells went off as she tucked her knees to her chest and buried her face in them, further signifying something was wrong. Masaru quickly joined her and sat next to her, poking her shoulder with a frown.

"Akari? What happened?"

"When I was on my way to the kitchen, I thought I heard mom crying," she told him quietly, shaking her head slowly without looking at him. "I followed it to her study, and when I got closer I could hear her whimpering. It sounded like... like she was having a nightmare." Admitting it made her wince, and Masaru involuntarily flinched as well, his face distorting into a grimace. Foggy memories of blood-curdling screams and hysterical sobs in the darkest hours of night surfaced, a young toddler version of himself curling together with his sister as they waited for the cries to stop. A heavy chill washed through his body, a giant shiver coursing from head to spine.

"I thought they stopped when we entered the academy," he whispered, and Akari just shrugged, rolling her head onto her arms to stare to the side.

"Or maybe she just got better at hiding them," she replied quietly.

* * *

As the school year drew on, Sasuke grew increasingly quiet and withdrawn. A certain tension began to settle over the main house of the Uchiha clan, a sense of unease and unrest lingering in the air at all times.

Originally when the training sessions had begun, Itachi had tried to make time in his busy schedule to watch them and offer his input on their progress, but his visits gradually decreased. Eventually it reached a point where the twins almost never saw the Uchiha heir, both at the house or anywhere else in the compound. They rarely saw Uchiha Fugaku either. The stern man's time seemed to be spent away from home or in his private office, too occupied with his job as the chief of the Konoha Military Police and his obligations as the clan head to make time for three academy students. The few times he did make an appearance, he would watch them for only a couple of minutes and grunt some brief comment on their technique before leaving.

"Sasuke-kun really wants his approval," Akari noted after one visit. "Did you see the disappointment on his face when Fugaku-sama left?"

Masaru frowned as he thought back to their few encounters with the man. Honestly, he'd been too distracted by Fugaku's imposing presence to notice anything unusual about Sasuke's behavior. "I'll take your word for it," he decided, and they left it at that.

As the training sessions continued the tension in the main house gradually grew too intense to bear, so when Akari suggested moving their sessions to their own house Sasuke jumped on the idea. Ryoko welcomed the change cheerfully, treating the visits with the same enthusiasm as Mikoto. Every Friday when the three Uchiha children arrived fresh from the academy she had an apple, a tomato and a peach waiting for them on the table, and the trio eagerly devoured the snacks before heading outside to spar. Occasionally Mikoto would be there too, she and Ryoko hanging back and chatting lightly about various topics the kids didn't care for as they supervised the sparring matches.

Seeing their mothers get along so well encouraged the children to try again to strengthen their own bonds and increase their time spent together. Alas, fate had different plans though. They got through three days of having lunch together before Akari declared she hated fan girls with a passion and stomped off to plot her revenge. And of course, without her as a buffer Sasuke and Masaru fell into that awkward silence. They could only discuss sparring so much without actually demonstrating it, and attempts at conversations about other topics fizzled out for various reasons.

Aside from that, Masaru's semi-sort-of-maybe-maybe-not-friendship with Naruto seemed to be making progress (maybe), and at least proved a nice distraction from all the weird tension at home. They did have lunch together a couple times, but they didn't talk too much. Most of those periods were spent with Naruto complaining about the teachers and how boring he found the subjects, while Masaru just nodded along quietly and maybe contributed a point here or there.

Generally though, Masaru found himself still more comfortable talking to his uncle's grave than anyone with a pulse.

"I'm really weird, aren't I?" he mused aloud during one of his weekly visits. "I mean, I never even met you, but here I am visiting you every week and telling you stories. I don't even visit dad's grave this much."

His own words gave him pause, frowning slightly as he contemplated it. The young Uchiha twins had never actually met their father. Photos of the man adorned the walls of their house, showcasing his growth from a scraggly young genin proudly displaying his hitai-ate to a noble-looking young man who radiated confidence. According to Ryoko, he had died before they were even born, losing his life on a mission shortly after learning of her pregnancy. Unlike many shinobi who perished during missions outside the village, his teammates had been able to retrieve his body and bring it back for a proper burial. They visited his grave every year on his birthday, their mother preparing an elaborate picnic for the occasion made with his favorite foods and regaling them with endless tales about his jovial and easygoing nature.

Strangely, she rarely spoke about him outside of those visits though. Ryoko talked more about their uncle—who was in fact a distant cousin rather than her actual brother—but Masaru knew it had nothing to do with any distance between his parents. Deep longing glimmered in her eyes whenever she spoke about him, her mouth curving into a soft, unconscious smile filled with fondness and yearning. No, their mother absolutely loved him, and his death had left a void in her heart that still ached to his day, even the happiest memories tainted by the knowledge she'd never see him again.

"Mom once told us that the Uchiha love too much," he mused quietly, reclining on the grass to stare at the sky. Thick clouds rolled overhead and blotted out the sun, casting a grayish tint over the world that left the colors in the cemetery more muted. "She said we get too attached, and so when someone we really love dies, a piece of us dies too. I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, I think that's sad."

It made him wonder about his clan, and how many people would have lost loved ones over the long centuries of war and carnage. Did any of them break because of it? Did anyone follow their loved ones to death? What if Ryoko—

Masaru cut his musings there, deciding his thoughts were getting too depressing. He blamed it on the weather, it just made everything feel a bit bleak and somber.

Deciding he'd stayed long enough, the boy got to his feet and picked up the bucket he'd brought to clean the grave, giving the stone slab a small bow. "I should get home, it'll be dinner time soon. I'll see you next week."

The walk from the cemetery to the Uchiha clan compound was always peaceful, the path connecting them winding through a small cluster of trees that always felt serene and peaceful. As he passed through the gates of the compound and headed down the ever-busy main street, he couldn't help but glance at his clansmen and think about just how much they felt like strangers. Sure, he saw their faces every day, but he couldn't place a name to them. They never actually interacted, never called out to him like they would for Sasuke and ask about how his day at the academy was. Despite the incredible familiarity with their appearances Masaru knew nothing about his relatives, and he suspected they knew just as little about him as—

"Masaru-kun?"

Startled to hear a voice behind him, Masaru spun around so fast the bucket arced upwards and the water inside splashed onto him, thoroughly drenching him. He flinched as the cold swiftly seeped through his shirt and shorts, his nose wrinkling as he shivered. Wet clothes definitely ranked high on his list of most uncomfortable experiences. Grimacing, he raised his head only to freeze when he saw Uchiha Mikoto standing behind him, watching him with a concerned gaze. Oh right, someone called his name.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized. "Here, let me carry the bucket so we can go to your house and you can change." As she spoke she extended her hands to him to take the bucket, and Masaru obediently passed it to her, not in the mood to carry it any more. The damp fabric of his clothes already clung to his body, uncomfortably rubbing against his skin and squishing audibly with each step, but he pushed his discomfort out of his mind as they set off. He snuck a glance at the Uchiha matriarch to distract himself. Her lips pressed into a tight frown as she walked through the compound, and Masaru had to jog to keep up with her as she moved at a somewhat fast pace which suggested a sense of urgency that didn't fit the situation.

This wasn't right, his instincts warned. Even if wearing partially-wet clothing was uncomfortable and probably unhealthy, Mikoto's concern seemed a bit too strong for the situation. "Mikoto-san?" he ventured hesitantly. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"

He almost bumped into the woman when she abruptly halted, her body momentarily stiff and rigid before her shoulders sagged and she turned to face him. Bending forward slightly so their eyes were more level, Masaru found himself almost paralyzed as he noted the unusually grave look on her face. It only solidified the dread growing in his stomach, his heart already sinking in anticipation of her response.

"An hour ago Akari-chan suddenly collapsed in the middle of target practice. She and your mother are at the hospital right now."


	5. Chapter 4: Four is Unlucky

Chapter 4

* * *

 _"Four is the number of death in most Asian cultures because it's a homonym for death. I don't like four. Can we skip it? Please?"_

* * *

Since it took twenty minutes to walk to the hospital, Masaru had plenty of time to worry about what he'd find when they arrived. Images of a too-pale Akari comatose in a bed plagued his thoughts, two doctors hanging in the doorway discussing her condition in low tones sparsed with theatrical gasps of surprise from a beautiful female nurse to low-key dramatic music.

In his defense, Masaru had never been to a hospital and most of his knowledge came from the medical dramas his mother liked to watch. He knew reality would probably be very different from that, and sure enough, it was.

"Masaruuuu!"

He yelped as his sister enthusiastically tackled him in a pale blue blur, nearly toppling him to the ground as her arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace. "I'm so boooored!" she whined. "Let's go home and train!"

"Akari, no," their mother sighed, shaking her head with a long-suffering look, while Mikoto covered her mouth to stifle a small giggle.

As it turned out, Akari was fine. The doctors pinned her collapse as a result of overworking herself in the extreme heat. "She'll need to stay overnight, just to be safe," Ryoko explained. "And they want us to come back in a few weeks. They found some other things during the examination and they want to look into it. It's nothing serious," she added hastily at her son's horrified look, "They said Akari-chan is perfectly fine right now. They just found something unexpected and want to look into it some more, that's all. You don't need to be such a worrywart, Masa-chan."

She smiled and ruffled his hair before turning to admonish Akari for trying to sneak out the door during the conversation. Being in the hospital for even a couple of hours had left the young girl antsy and impatient to go back to training, much to the hospital staff's consternation.

"Don't let her become another Kakashi," she told their mom in a serious tone when she stopped by, and Ryoko just laughed and promised not to let it reach that level.

Hospital policy prevented kids from staying overnight with patients, so Mikoto volunteered to host Masaru for the night while Ryoko stayed with Akari. Dinner proved quiet and somewhat awkward, though not as tense as Masaru had expected after his last few visits to the main house. Maybe it stemmed from Fugaku's absence; he'd stayed late at the police station that night, so only Itachi, Sasuke and Mikoto were there for dinner.

Most of the conversation revolved around school, Mikoto gently prodding the two younger boys about what they'd been studying and Sasuke eagerly filling her in. Masaru contributed on occasion but mostly remained quiet, though he still talked more than Itachi, who ate in near total silence before quietly excusing himself. The remainder of the evening proved relatively uneventful, he and Sasuke not really talking aside from when they set up a spare futon in his room. When Akari and Ryoko came to get him the next morning, Masaru eagerly welcomed his sister's familiar warm personality.

While Akari was slated to return to the hospital for a more extended stay in a couple of weeks, nothing seemed wrong with her. At school Akari proved as fit and active as ever, her performance in class never slipping. "Even I don't get what's wrong," she admitted to him with a frown. "The adults won't tell me anything." It struck them both as strange, but it soon faded to the backs of their minds as they went about their days.

Life at school continued as usual, most of their time spent studying and quietly conversing with each other. Akari had some more free time after her tentative friendship with Hinata stalled due to her clan's disapproval. Apparently the Uchiha and Hyuuga had a powerful rivalry due to their competing doujutsu, and having the clan heiress consort with a lowly branch member of the Uchiha was too unseemly to support.

"The Uchiha has a branch family?" Masaru asked in surprise when Akari told him.

"That's what I said!" she groaned. Frankly, they never really thought of their family in terms of its position within the clan. While the Uchiha clan definitely had a main house and a council of elders, they didn't have a strict dichotomy between them and the rest of the clan like the Hyuuga did. The Uchiha were just Uchiha, simple as that. As long as you weren't a bastard and respected your elders, the clan cared more about your ability as a shinobi than where your parents fit into the hierarchy.

Still, though that friendship proved to be a washout, Akari didn't sulk and quickly moved on with her life. Having given up on most of the kunoichi in their class as a lost cause, she turned her sights to their male classmates for companionship. Surprisingly (or perhaps not), she had much better luck there. Initially they treated her warily due to the typical male pride that ran rampant at their age, but she quickly proved herself their equal.

Partially by beating up anyone who insulted her.

Ryoko had actually spit out her food at dinner when Akari recounted giving one snobby boy a black eye over a snide comment about her breaking a nail. "As your mother, I should not approve," she told them, trying to muffle her snickers. "But as a kunoichi and fellow woman, next time, go for poetic justice. They tell you not to break a nail, scratch them to hell and back!"

They spent a good chunk of that meal discussing similarly ironic physical comebacks, neither seeming to notice Masaru gradually sink further and further into his seat. If he seemed to be a bit more withdrawn from his sister over the next few days, she never commented on it.

As Akari's social life at school expanded though, that meant they spent a little less time together. Contrary to what some might expect, being her twin did not automatically grant Masaru membership into her new social groups. According to her, some of their classmates believed his quiet nature to be due to arrogance. "You're kidding," he deadpanned, and she grinned.

"Well, you can be pretty snobby when it comes to sparring," she teased. He responded to that by slamming a pillow at her head. She just laughed and threw one back.

That said, Masaru really didn't mind the growing distance between them at school. After all, he and Akari already spent plenty of time together outside of it, seeing as they lived together and even shared a room. Twins tended to get lumped into a single unit by other people, so they were pleased to realize they'd each managed to attain a certain level of autonomy at school. Having different friends made them feel a bit more free and independent.

If anything, it motivated him even more to try to make his own friend. To that end he had lunch with Naruto together a few more times, but as the days passed Masaru felt progress to be slow on his end. He still didn't contribute much to their conversations, letting Naruto do all the talking, and it made him feel like he wasn't putting in much effort. So when Naruto invited him to get ramen after school one day, he'd been caught by almost complete surprise.

As they headed through town he couldn't help notice the glares various civilians sent their way. Previously he'd been aware that others seemed to treat Naruto differently, but until then he hadn't realized just how bad it really was. Whispers of "fox" and "demon-brat" tickled his ears as shopkeepers glowered at Naruto, pedestrians crossing to the opposite side of the street to avoid them.

Pain flickered in Naruto's eyes at each spiteful look sent their way, yet he kept that big grin plastered on his face. His excitement as he chattered about their destination was genuine, his love for the ramen stand bordering on fanaticism. Considering how heavily Naruto vaunted it as the best in Konoha, Masaru expected it to be a grand, fancy building filled with throngs of people clamoring for more bowls.

Instead, Ichiraku Ramen operated out of a small and plain wooden building that barely stood out from the rest. Square flaps of white fabric dangled from the front of the stand to provide some privacy for the diners, each flap bearing one of the characters that made up the stand's name. Beneath them he could see the stools were empty, further shattering his preconceptions.

Viewing the surprisingly unremarkable structure, Masaru wondered if maybe Naruto had overhyped it a little. However, when Naruto climbed onto a stool and loudly announced his presence, Masaru quickly realized _why_ the blond liked it so much when the stand's owner greeted him with the first friendly smile he'd seen all day.

"Well, if it isn't my best customer!" he laughed, the skin around his eyes crinkling as he grinned at Naruto. "I was wondering when you'd show up!"

"You know I can't stay away too long!" Naruto replied with a grin. He then turned to Masaru and patted the seat next to him, prodding, "Come on, sit down so we can order! I'm telling you, this place has the best ramen in town!"

"Oh? Who's this?" The chef turned a curious eye to Masaru as the young Uchiha climbed onto the stool next to Naruto. Instinct kicked in under the stranger's scrutiny, and he straightened his back as all the lessons in proper etiquette he'd received as an Uchiha kicked in.

"My name is Uchiha Masaru," he greeted, dipping his head politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir." The formal nature of his greeting seemed to catch the man off-guard, but he quickly recovered with a hearty chuckle, flashing a cheery grin.

"Oh, so this is the famous Masaru, eh?" he teased, and Masaru snapped his head upwards to stare at him wide-eyed.

"Famous?" he stammered, but then froze. His gaze whipped to Naruto to find the blond offering him a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I, uh, might have mentioned you to old man Teuchi a couple times," he admitted with a small laugh. "Sorry, it's just—it's just really cool to have a friend, you know?"

 _Friend._

The word sent an unexpected surge of warmth through Masaru, catching him off-guard. He stiffened in his seat as he stared at Naruto wide-eyed, and the blonde's smile gradually faded as the seconds ticked by, growing increasingly nervous at Masaru's silence.

"Uh, sorry, is—is that too much?" he muttered, hesitating. "I mean, I know I'm, well, you know..." He trailed off, for once at a loss for words. Fidgeting in his seat, he turned forward and started fiddling with the hem of his shirt, his normal confident grin replaced by an uncertain frown. "I mean, I guess I can see why—why you might not think that—"

"No," Masaru interrupted, and Naruto whirled his head around to stare at him, his cerulean eyes large with surprise. Meeting his gaze straight on Masaru let his lips curve upwards, offering the blonde a small, feeble smile. Until then Masaru had been hesitant on how to classify their relationship, not wanting to put it on too high of a pedestal, but hearing Naruto use the word settled it once and for all. "It's fine. I'm just—I'm just not used to having a friend either."

Naruto's eyes widened even more at Masaru's response, his mouth dropping open, and then—

He turned into sunlight.

Beams of light seemed to radiate from him as he broke into a giant grin, his golden hair glowing like a halo and his sky blue eyes shining with pure joy. The abrupt shift in his demeanor—the pure, unadulterated look of elation on his face—momentarily stunned Masaru, his own eyes widening in shock.

Beside them Teuchi just laughed, and he placed a hand on both their heads in an affectionate pat, effectively snapping them out of the moment. "I think this calls for a celebration!" he declared cheerfully. "Two bowls of whatever flavor you want, on the house!"

Grinning, Naruto eagerly took him up on it and Masaru placed his own order. They stayed there for almost an hour, chatting eagerly as they ate. Over the course of that meal they learned a lot of things about each other. For example, Naruto could eat at least fifteen bowls of ramen in a row and still have room for more. Masaru decided that was really scary too.

"I never really had a friend before," Masaru mused at his uncle's grave that weekend after recounting the event. "I mean, I go to Sasuke's house every week, but... we don't really talk that much. And when we do, I don't know what to say and I mess it up. But Naruto doesn't need me to talk, he can do all the talking for me. And maybe that's why we get along, I guess we kinda balance each other."

He smiled at the thought, reclining on the grass and glancing at the sky. Ominous dark clouds covered it in a thick blanket of black and gray, threatening to send rain soon. Sighing softly, he turned his head slightly and a flash of color caught his eye. Mountains of bouquets decorated a nearby gravesite, the rock slab still shiny and polished with no signs of the wear and tear the others accumulated over the years.

Masaru's lips pursed at the sight, and he slowly turned his head back to its original position. "Hey," he murmured softly, closing his eyes. "Do you remember... that story I told you about when Naruto pranked me the first time? There was a boy at the house that day, another Uchiha I never saw before." He fell silent, letting it linger for a few moments as he quietly breathed through his nose.

"His name was Shisui. He died five days ago."

News of the unexpected death had sent tremors through the Uchiha clan, whispers of conspiracies and doubts echoing through the compound. When he first saw the framed photo of Uchiha Shisui draped in black, Masaru had been surprised to recognize the laughing teenager from that day years ago, his boisterous laughter easing the tension he'd felt after seeing his mother's Sharingan. Drowned in Naka River, they said, with a suicide note found on the banks while the body remained missing.

His fists clenched at his sides, his nails digging into his palms and leaving small marks. He had only seen Shisui that one time, but he suspected he visited quite often without him or Akari noticing. "Mom's... Mom's really upset," he whispered, his voice faintly quivering. "She still acts normal and has dinner with us, but she's been spending more time in her study. I think the nightmares are back, too, and I think they're even worse. She woke us up twice this week screaming."

Flinching as he recalled the blood-curdling screams, Masaru shuddered and quickly raised the heels of his palms over his eyes, pressing hard until his vision began to swim even behind his closed eyelids. Something about the sensation felt vaguely comforting for reasons he couldn't explain; maybe it had to do with his dormant Sharingan, or maybe it was just a personal oddity. He did this whenever he felt like he wanted to cry, starting way back when he was a toddler.

Over the past few days, he'd done it pretty often.

"I'm scared," he admitted, his voice barely a whisper. "I'm really, really scared."

"Masaru?" A quiet voice drew him from his thoughts, and he opened his eyes as he turned around. Spots sparked in his vision before fading away to reveal his sister standing behind him, her face far more tired than he'd ever seen. She held a bright red umbrella in preparation for the upcoming rain, the crimson color popping against the dreary desaturated hues of the cemetery.

Slowly getting to his feet, Masaru silently joined her under the umbrella, gaze cast to the dying grass. He slipped his hand into her free one as he stood by her, giving it a small squeeze. They cast the gravestone a final glance, offering it feeble, tired smiles.

"Bye, Uncle Obito," Akari called softly. "See you next week." With that the twins walked home, hoping vainly for things to go back to normal.

* * *

(A/N: So here we have it, the grand reveal! The grave is in fact Obito's. Hope that surprised some of you, though one commenter on AO3 figured it out. I hope it doesn't feel too cliche, but there is a reason for it. Next chapter things will get more serious. The massacre is coming...

Also, thanks to reebajee for posting the first-ever review here! I'm glad you like Akari. I won't give away anything quite yet, but I will say there's a bit more to her than meets the eye.

And one final note: **When I post Chapter 5, I will be changing the story's name to "Echoes of Light"**. I've been flip-flopping on the title ever since I got the idea, and Echoes of Light works really well. I'm also thinking of posting a modified version of the prologue, since I feel like the current one is a bit too mundane. It would still feature the current parts, but more as flashbacks. But I feel like the revised version I made might be a bit too grand, so I'm still on the edge about it. Any thoughts? I'd be wiling to send a copy of it to anyone if you're curious.)


	6. Chapter 5: One is Lonely

Chapter 5

* * *

 _"One is the loneliest number. It's even lonelier when you're used to being one of at least two or three. Screw superstitions and bad luck, I'd happily take four over one."_

* * *

Time seemed to both fly and drag slowly as the tension at the compound spiraled to new heights. After Shisui's death, the training sessions with Sasuke came to an abrupt end. He simply stopped showing up at their house, and the twins never asked him about it. They became virtual strangers once more, their interactions limited to the quiet walks to the academy every morning, and even that only because they lived in the same general area.

At home, their mother always acted cheery and helpful, plastering on a smile and asking about their days, but something about it felt strained. When they got home she'd often be somewhere else, and return anywhere from a few minutes to an hour after they arrived. Conversations at dinner, once loud and energetic, began to feel forced and unnatural, the three seeming to go through the motions as they made polite small talk. After dinner she would lock herself in her study for the rest of the night.

The nightmares had definitely returned. Sharp screams of pure horror would cut through the silence of the night and violently startle the twins awake, their eyes shooting open with gasps and hands instinctively reaching for kunai they had kept by their beds since starting at the academy. Sometimes though she'd just sob, and when creeping past her study to go to the bathroom Masaru and Akari both caught wisps of murmurs about Shisui and bad omens.

One particularly bad night, Akari had been engaged in her own nightmare when the scream woke her, and when she saw Masaru holding his kunai in her panicked still-groggy haze she _moved_. Cold steel sliced through his pajama sleeve and grazed his arm, drawing a thin line of blood in its wake before she realized her mistake. They automatically locked gazes and stared at each other in horror, their eyes saying everything. Eventually they silently got up and crept into the bathroom to wash the cut and bandage it. The next day he covered it under a long sleeved shirt, his torn pajama top buried in the bottom of the laundry hamper.

When they went to bed that night, they made a point to store their kunai in the drawers.

School provided a good distraction from the stress at home, and Masaru felt particularly grateful to Naruto. They had lunch together almost every day now, and while he still didn't speak much Masaru felt his silence now stemmed more from comfort than shyness. Their growing friendship provided a bright spot in his life, the blond a bright ray of sunshine in the bleak tension that dominated their home more and more. Listening to Naruto ramble about his pranks and his distaste for school allowed Masaru to push his worries out of his mind, even if for just a little bit.

With all of that going on, they focused on little else and thus they completely forgot about Akari's impending hospital visit until Ryoko mentioned it. Consulting with their teachers at the academy about the best time frame, Ryoko scheduled her visit on a week that the teachers insisted would be rather minor and easy to make up, starting on a Thursday morning and ending sometime Monday. Akari appeared and felt absolutely fine so the mysterious secret issue doctors wanted to study had slipped their minds.

"I can't believe we're still doing this," Akari grumbled as she packed the night before her stay, angrily flinging clothes into her bag. "I mean, is there even a point to this? They still won't even tell me what's wrong!"

"Well, maybe nothing's wrong," Masaru said slowly, speaking more to himself than her. Akari paused and slowly turned to face him, arching an eyebrow in a typical Uchiha-esque display of interest.

"What do you mean?" she asked, and Masaru shrugged, tilting his head to the ceiling as he fell into thought.

"Maybe they found out you have something, well, _good_. Like, I dunno, super-advanced chakra coils. Or maybe you have a secret Uchiha kekkei genkai that only appears once every hundred generations." As he rambled off possibilities Akari's dark eyes lit up, breaking into a giant grin. Hospitalization for some secret illness was highly undesirable, but if it was because of a genetic quirk that might give her an advantage as a kunoichi, Akari would gladly embrace it.

The next morning they bid each other farewell at breakfast and Masaru headed to the academy alone. Walking down the familiar streets of the compound and then the village without Akari at his side felt... weird. Next to him he noticed Sasuke shooting him inquisitive glances, obviously curious about Akari's absence, but his fellow Uchiha didn't ask so Masaru didn't bother to explain.

Class felt strangely empty without her. Even though they mixed with different crowds and didn't interact much, during class they sat at the same table, and his eyes continually darted to her empty seat throughout the day. Even at lunch as he ate with Naruto and listened to his friend describe his plans for his next big prank he found himself absently scanning their surroundings, looking for his sister among the crowd of boys she often spent time with.

The void left by her absence didn't _really_ strike him until he got home, though.

Slipping off his sandals as he stepped inside, he called a traditional greeting and was answered with silence. Ryoko's absence hardly surprised him given increasing amount of time she'd spent outside the house lately, but even so the utter silence caught him off guard. As he started padding down the hall he felt conspicuously aware of his current solitude.

Normally, he or Akari would do something silly by now. Sometimes she'd pounce on him from behind, latching onto his back and forcing him to give her piggyback rides if the sudden weight didn't make him fall down. Other times he'd sneak up on her and quickly tap her neck on either side with his hands, his comparatively cold fingers sending a small shock through her and making her jump with a loud yelp. Usually within five minutes of returning home they'd be rolling around the floor wrestling and Ryoko would have to pull them apart with an exasperated smile.

Walking to his bedroom out of habit, he dropped his bag by the door and turned to leave to train in the backyard, only to pause. On a whim Masaru slowly turned back and approached Akari's futon, bending over it and running his fingers over the neatly folded comforter patterned with plum blossoms. Closing his eyes shut, he leaned over and inhaled through his nose, savoring the lingering traces of her scent. He wasn't an Inuzuka, he couldn't break down every component of a scent, but after spending his entire life with her he'd grown used to the natural scent Akari exuded and could identify it by heart.

A sudden pang filled his chest, making him sag slightly as he leaned his head atop the blanket. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he remembered his mom talking about the Uchiha's penchant for love. She said that the Uchiha loved more strongly than anyone else, so when they lost someone precious, it took a piece of their heart with them.

Right now, curled next to his sister's futon clinging to what little traces of her presence he could find, Masaru thought maybe he could understand what she meant.

* * *

School the next day proved just as empty and lonely as the previous one, perhaps even moreso because Naruto skipped that day. The Uzumaki boy had a penchant for skipping school entirely, and while he'd started hanging around a bit more after becoming friends with Masaru he still missed a fair amount of days. After classes ended Sasuke, as usual, chose to stay behind and train in the training field, leaving Masaru to return home all alone.

As he silently walked through the busy streets of Konoha he felt strangely detached from reality, his surroundings becoming dull and unfocused as his legs moved on their own. When he finally stopped, instead of the Uchiha clan compound he found himself standing before Obito's grave. His bag slid from his fingers and landed in the grass with a dull thump and after a moment he followed suit, tucking his knees to his chest as he faced the tombstone.

For a while he just sat there in silence, letting his mind roam as he leaned his head on his arms. Their mother described Uchiha Obito as a sunny boy whose smile could penetrate the bleakest darkness, a child with a rare heart of gold that remained untarnished even after seeing war for himself. More often than not his peers treated him as a joke, mocking him for his chronic tardiness and never realizing his weak-sounding excuses were almost always true, starting from the very first day when he arrived late to his own entrance ceremony at the academy because he stopped to help an old lady.

His bright personality and boisterous enthusiasm never truly fit in with the rest of their stoic Uchiha relatives. He found himself distant from everyone but his grandmother and Ryoko, who had assumed a sister-like role in his life as she helped care for her baby cousin and watched him grow. Ryoko's eyes would grow misty as she recounted how he struggled to get acknowledged, and his various declarations that he would become Hokage. He had a strong potential, she claimed, one which far outshone any of the other Uchiha in his generation, but no one else could see it. As he grew older all they saw was a failure of an Uchiha who had yet to even activate his Sharingan, and their taunting fostered a sense of self doubt which rendered Obito blind to his own potential as well.

In the end, on the day Obito finally activated his Sharingan, his pure and selfless heart also led to his demise as he sacrificed himself to save his teammates.

He had been only thirteen.

Masaru opened his eyes slightly as he recalled the one time Ryoko told them about Obito's death, his gaze gliding to the slab of stone bearing the fallen boy's name. The ground beneath it held only solid dirt, his corpse never retrieved and left to rot crushed beneath a slew of boulders far away.

"Mom once said," he began quietly, "that the Uchiha love too strongly. That it leads us to our own self destruction when we lose our precious people. But, when she told us about how you died, she said you did it _right_." A faint smile touched his lips, a mirthless gesture that filled with more sadness than joy. "She said you did it _before_ you lost your precious ones, and you self-destructed in a way that saved them. You helped stop the war."

A soft breeze trickled past him, fingers of wind tracing through his unruly locks in an attempt to move it as the tangled mass stubbornly remained still. Masaru sighed softly, resting his head on his arms once more with his face turned to look to his side. Row after row of graves extended before him towards the expanse of trees surrounding the cemetery, dark slabs of stone towering above the ground to mark the final resting places of many who fell to war.

Cemeteries always appeared lonely and desolate in books and TV shows. Films gave those scenes a muted gray tint that desaturated every color, from the dull, lifeless green grass to the actors' pale and clammy skin. When he was little, the somber atmosphere of those scenes had confused him. His family's visits to the graves had always been more cheerful and light, all of them smiling and laughing whether they were telling Obito about their week or listening to stories about their dad, so it didn't make much sense.

Right now, though, Masaru could understand why media usually portrayed cemeteries as such a bleak and grim setting.

Death permeated the air, the stone markers long-lasting reminders of lives snuffed short. Corpses and skeletons rested only a few feet below the surface inside wooden coffins, the dirt above them already sprouting grass so only the tombstones marked their final resting place. Perhaps more tragic though were the empty graves, the markers only representing the people whose names they bore in spirit as their bodies rotted away far from home, never to return.

"I wonder," he murmured quietly, his breath barely louder than a whisper, "if maybe one day, when I'm a ninja, I could go find you, and bring you home. It must be lonely, wherever you are."

Movement flickered within the trees in the corner of his vision, and he lazily shifted his head slightly to try to get a better look. For a moment he thought he saw the silhouette of a person hidden in the shadows, but as he stared at it longer he eventually realized it was simply a tree. Despite it being nothing he smiled faintly at the realization. Looks like he was on the right track to developing ninja instincts. Never let your guard down, for even a few second.

After that, Masaru just sat there in silence for a long while, not feeling like saying anything else. Eventually though he hauled himself to his feet, brushing off the dirt and clumps of grass sticking to his shorts. By this point the sky had started to dim slightly, and he noted the telltale sign of dusk approaching with mild surprise. Had that much time really passed? He'd never stayed that late before, his mother must be getting worried, so he resolved to hurry home as he picked up his bag.

"Bye, Uncle Obito," he told the grave marker, offering it a small smile and raising his hand in a motionless wave. "See you tomorrow." He hitched his bag over his shoulder and headed off, his head bowed.

Thick silence hung over the woods as he slowly made his way to the Uchiha compound, the animals unusually quiet. Something about it prickled at his nerves, making him pick up his pace slightly as he glanced around his surroundings warily. Maybe it was just because he'd never walked through it so close to night, but something about it left him strangely unsettled and on edge. He gradually moved faster and faster until he was full-out running, his bag bouncing against his back with each step.

When the familiar walls of the compound came into sight relief flooded him and he slowed to a walk, his pace still brisk but considerably more casual than before. He glanced back at the woods as he moved towards the entrance, keeping his gaze firmly rooted on it for any signs of movement. Nothing happened though, and when it disappeared from his line of sight behind the walls he breathed a small sigh. He then smirked, a bit amused. Now that he was home, he felt a bit silly about how paranoid he'd been—

 _Squelch_.

Masaru froze when he felt liquid splash beneath his sandal, drops of something warm and wet splashing against his ankles. _Warm_ and _wet_ , his mind re-emphasized. Rainwater would feel cold, not lukewarm, and even then it hadn't rained in the past few days. As the implications of that settled in Masaru subconsciously tightened his grip on the straps of his bag, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath through his nose to calm himself.

He instantly regretted it because the air he inhaled had a sharp copper tang to it.

Eyes snapping open, Masaru felt his body stiffen, a sudden chill washing down his spine and spreading to his limbs that made him want to shiver despite the heat. Heart hammering in his ears, he slowly lowered his gaze. Dark red liquid pooled around his sandals, several flecks staining his ankles from the earlier splash. As he lowered his head further to take in the full sight, he noticed something pale in the corner of his peripheral vision, and reflexively turned to look at it.

He turned his head barely a centimeter before freezing when he recognized it as a finger attached to a blood-stained hand.

Bile instantly rose in his throat when he realized what he was looking at and he squeezed his eyes shut, unwilling to let his gaze follow the hand any further to the arm. His breath hitched in his throat painfully, the stop so abrupt it made him want to cough, but he kept his mouth firmly clamped shut. If he opened his mouth he would scream, and then he would vomit, and then he would be vulnerable and expose his location to whoever caused that.

 _It's not real,_ he told himself desperately. _It's gotta be a dream, or—or genjutsu. There is not a body nearby, there is not-_

A sharp scream in the distance cut off his thoughts and Masaru's eyes reflexively snapped open—

—and he found himself staring right at a pair of lifeless Sharingan eyes set against a pallid face.

* * *

( **A/N: The Massacre is in the next chapter. You are warned now.** )


	7. Chapter 6: Everyone Has Regrets

**Warning. This chapter is the Uchiha Clan Massacre.**

This means there will be blood, there will be corpses, and there will be suffering. There will be pain involved. It will not be as explicit and gory as some stories, but this chapter is not pleasant. If you are uncomfortable with any of that, please skip this chapter. The most relevant events will be mentioned in the next few chapters.

Chapter 6

* * *

 _"Everyone has regrets. Everyone has something they wish they could go back and change. But no matter how much you regret it, some things just can't be fixed. I'm sorry._

 _I'm so, so sorry."_

* * *

Masaru forcibly slapped his hands over his mouth to stifle the scream that desperately threatened to escape. Dull red eyes stared at him, the trio of tomoe still and motionless around the pupil. Unwillingly his eyes raised from the body and flickered over the rest of the street, his stomach lurching even more at the sight he found.

Corpses surrounded him, familiar faces staring at the sky lifelessly with black and red eyes as kunai peppered their forms. Deep and ugly gashes marred their bodies at various points, their skin neatly sliced open to expose the muscles and organs inside with a neat precision he recognized as a sword. Rivulets of blood streamed through the cracks in the pavement and flowed outwards until it filled every gap, forming a web-like pattern of crimson streaks that seemed to glow against the gray stone.

Chest tightening as he slowly looked over the carnage, Masaru's mind became blank, too overwhelmed by horror to think.

At seven, Uchiha Masaru had never truly encountered death. He had been to funerals, bid farewell to old clan members before their burials or cremations, but their bodies had looked peaceful. They had laid with their eyes closed as if asleep, their skin taking on an odd pallid quality with a dull sheen that reminded him of wax.

These corpses were nothing like that though. Every face he saw was contorted into a pained expression of some sort or another, frozen snapshots of the violent torrent of emotions they felt at their moments of death. So many had their mouths open in horrified screams, their eyes ranging from wide open to pinched shut to block out their death. Ferocious scowls twisted some of the shinobi's faces, tinged with varying degrees of panic, each one fueled by a mixture of fear and a fierce determination to survive, to protect, to get away—

 _Why? Why are they dead? What's going on? Why is there so much blood how did they all die why did they die whywhywhywhy—_

Another scream cut through the silence, a feral roar ringing with furious resolve and wrath, only to abruptly cut off just like the others. More screams and shouts soon followed, each ending sharply and abruptly mid-syllable. It snapped him back to reality, breaking his momentary shock. He couldn't afford to zone out right now, he was in danger—

 _Mom._

The thought of his mother set Masaru's blood cold in his veins, his eyes widening in horror. Before he knew it he was running, his backpack discarded as he desperately raced past the corpses to get to his house. Tears burned in his eyes as he forced himself not to look at the bloody corpses, shuddering as he heard more splashes under his sandals and felt more warm blood splatter the insides of his legs.

Their house was far from the front gate compared to others, a good ten minutes walking, but with adrenaline and fear fueling his footsteps Masaru found the trip more than halved. Screams continued to echo behind him, a horrible chorus of death and bloodshed that gradually dwindled to silence, but he ignored it. Horrible as it was, some gut instinct told him that as long as he could still hear them he'd have time, so he did his best to ignore them and moved faster.

When his house finally came into sight his feet ground to a stop, his heart sinking at the sight. Right now his house was completely dark, the interior of the windows hidden in shadows. Ryoko always kept a lantern lit in the front window from sunset to sunrise, even if she wasn't home, but right now he couldn't even see its outline against the darkness.

Stomach fluttering with dread, Masaru swallowed and glanced over his shoulder. The screams had stopped, the last one sounding about a minute ago. Whoever was responsible for it would surely be there soon. If they could kill chuunin and jounin from the Uchiha, one of the strongest clans in Konoha if not _the_ strongest, Masaru had no doubt they'd be able to find a mere academy student. Maybe he should have run away when he saw the first body, tried to get help, but... it was a bit late for that.

He swiftly shook his head and steeled his nerves, swiftly walking towards his house.

Finding the front door unlocked filled Masaru with equal parts dread and apprehension. _Mom always locks the door when she leaves._ His hands shook as he quietly closed the door behind himself and bent down to unstrap his sandals, almost gagging as his fingers brushed against blood. He could adjust his weight in his steps more accurately barefoot, making it easier to move quietly, so ditching them seemed common sense.

Eerie silence filled the house as he crept down the halls quietly, every nerve in his body on high-alert and his eyes darting around erratically in search of danger. Rapidly fading natural light drifted through open doors and windows, casting everything in a faint dusty blue tint that made him shudder. He could feel the grooves and splinters in the floorboards beneath his bare feet, and he periodically cast worried glances downwards in search of any blood.

Each doorway showed him only empty rooms, filling him with a growing blend of relief and anxiety. Relief because he didn't see any corpses, no blood or signs of a fight. Anxiety because he didn't see any signs of his mother either. He faltered slightly as he passed the half-closed shoji door leading to the sitting room, hesitating before sliding it open. Three teacups sat on the low table, each given its own side, and as he slowly walked closer he recognized the painted designs on their sides.

Delicate indigo blossoms decorated one—anemones, according to his mother. A branching web of slender twigs sprouting red and gold leaves adorned the other, the sight making him freeze. When Ryoko had first painted the teacups Akari had specifically requested the one with autumn foliage be reserved for her exclusive use, and since then only she used it. It didn't make sense for it to be out, she should be at the hospital, right?

 _Right?_

Chills running down his spine, Masaru smothered his growing sense of dread as he turned to study the final cup. Wisps of orange flames curled and twisted to resemble stylized flowers, and he noticed an amber-colored liquid glinting inside it. Hesitating, Masaru slowly dipped a finger in it and found it to be cool, suggesting it had been sitting there for a while now. A glance at the other cups revealed them to be empty.

He shook his head violently, turning and slipping back into the hall. Glancing down both directions, he turned and pressed onwards in his original route, hoping to find—what? Something? Nothing? He didn't know anymore.

Masaru just wanted to close his eyes and open them to find it was all a dream. That the main street of the compound wasn't littered in corpses and bloody weapons, that he didn't have blood splashed on his legs. He wanted his mom to come into his bedroom to gently chide him for oversleeping, for Akari to tease him about sleeping in and running late for class.

 _Creeeeaaaak._

Masaru froze as he heard the low groan of something wooden come from the front of the house, recognizing it instantly as one of the squeakier floorboards by the front door.

 _Someone is here._

Ice filled his veins, and he swiftly ducked into the nearest open door while making as little noise as possible. He found himself in the spare sitting room they used for guests who may spend the night. Cabinets and shelves lined the walls, the sliding doors of a closet half-open to reveal folded blankets and a futon piled on the floor. Masaru practically flew to it and squeezed through the open gap, careful not to disturb the blankets as he climbed over the pile, and swiftly smoothed them of any wrinkles.

Cold sweat dripped down his face as he crouched in the corner behind the other door, slowly raising his hands and lacing his fingers over his mouth to suppress any sounds he might make. Quiet footsteps slowly moved through the house, each creak of the floorboards unnaturally loud in the absolute silence. Masaru's heart pounded erratically and painfully in his chest from the tension as they drew closer, his fingers pressing harder against his face as they paused just outside the sitting room.

Holding perfectly still, he squeezed his eyes shut and stilled his breathing, silently praying to whatever deities existed for the intruder to move on. After a long moment that felt like hours the footsteps finally resumed, continuing down the hall.

As the squeaks marked the intruder's path moving further away from his hiding spot Masaru's tense shoulders sagged slightly, releasing a large breath through his nose. Masaru held no illusions he was safe, knowing it would only be a matter of time before his hiding spot would be found, but for now he focused on regulating his breathing to soothe the tight and painful feeling in his chest. Then bloody metal stabbed through the closet door just inches in front of his face.

A strangled scream tore through Masaru's throat, stifled by his fingers which still pressed against his lips. His back slammed against the wall as he reeled fell backwards in surprise, but he barely noticed the dull pain, his gaze transfixed on the bloody blade as it slowly retracted through the flimsy rice paper door. Body going numb with fear, Masaru could only press against the wall in terror as the door slowly slid open, hands ripping away from his mouth to brace against the wall as tears streamed down his face.

A shadowy figure loomed in the doorway, dark red splashed across the whitish-gray vest and armored plates of the ANBU. Shadows concealed most of their facial features, but Masaru's breath hitched as he saw the distinct glow around their eyes, a ring of three tomoe orbiting a pupil against a backdrop of bloody crimson— _Sharingan_. Masaru's blood ran cold at the sight, paralyzed and unable to move.

"Uchiha Masaru," the intruder intoned monotonously, and his eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

 _Uchiha Itachi._

The highly vaunted prodigy and heir to the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's elder brother who would supervise their spars and help them train, always gentle in his demonstrations of techniques and his voice warm as he praised their improvements. His eyes held none of that gentle light now, the burning crimson of the Sharingan rendering them harsh and uncaring as his gaze bore into Masaru.

"Pathetic," the elder Uchiha droned, his voice flat yet sounding almost disgusted. "Faced with danger, yet you hide in a closet and don't even arm yourself. Has the academy truly taught you nothing, or have you refused to learn?"

"I-I-Itachi-s-s-san," Masaru sputtered, his voice wobbly and weak as he shrunk further under Itachi's disdainful gaze. "W-w-what's g-going on?" He could see the older boy's lips curl back in a sneer, disgust evident on his face.

"Is it not obvious?" He raised his sword slightly and Masaru's gaze instantly snapped towards it, flinching as Itachi pointed it at him. Fresh blood glinted darkly on its surface, the tip hovering so close to his throat he could almost feel it. Masaru's body stilled at the proximity, eyes slowly raising to meet Itachi's apathetic gaze. "I am wiping out this pathetic clan."

Masaru didn't speak, didn't even breathe in fear that the slight motion might cause his throat to bob and meet the blade. Just one thrust, and he would die. Skewered at the throat, neck torn asunder to expose his spine and vocal chords as he choked on his own blood. Slowly Itachi lowered the sword, moving it to point to his stomach instead. Cold metal pressed his skin through the fabric of his shirt, light enough to avoid puncturing his skin but the pressure sending chills down his spine nonetheless.

A scared whimper escaped him, his stomach muscles tensing and pulling inwards away from it. The blade withdrew slightly but kept Masaru still as Itachi crouched down, leaning forward so his mouth hovered near the young boy's ear. "You truly are pathetic," he murmured, his breath ruffling loose hairs. "I am sure Akari-chan would be much braver."

 _Akari._ Masaru's eyes widened at his sister's name, his blood chilling even further, and then his gaze hardened. Swallowing harshly, his fists clenched at his side as he slowly turned his head to look at Itachi as the older boy pulled away, meeting his gaze directly. Flecks of black and pink visibly danced in the background of the Sharingan's red irises at this distance like a bloody jewel, the outline of the tomoe as they glided atop his corneas even more distinct.

"L-leave her alone," he growled, glaring at him hatefully. He saw a faint twitch in Itachi's features, the creases extending down his cheeks next to his nose flexing minutely as his eyelids parted ever so slightly before narrowing. His gaze seemed sharper now, even more intense than before, but Masaru still met his eyes, his own face pinched in tense resolve.

"Perhaps, you have more potential than I expected," Itachi whispered. Then a blossom of pain exploded in Masaru's stomach as the blade plummeted into him, ripping an agonized scream from the young boy.

Yanking it out, Itachi rose to his full height as Masaru hunched over with another cry, his hands flying to clutch the growing bloom of red around his abdomen. Burning pain seared from the wound, his vision blurring with tears as he gasped and choked in agony. In his periphery he could see Itachi's dark sandals retreat a half-step, and he shakily raised his head to glare at the older Uchiha.

"L-leave h-her alone!" he repeated loudly. Pain shook his voice and he hissed as he felt another tingle, but he remained firm in his resolve as he snarled, "Don't you d-dare touch her!" Hate filled his eyes as he glared at Itachi's apathetic face, catching another minute twitch in his otherwise blank features. The corners of his lips quirked upwards slightly, smirking at the pained boy.

"Yes, perhaps you will do after all," he mused thoughtfully. Then his hand shot out and yanked Masaru by the hair. The boy released a pained cry as he felt his hair sharply tug at his skin, the rest of his body jerking after it as his torso forcibly hunched over. Spots danced in his vision as the stab wound exploded into pain, eliciting another agonized shriek as he clutched it tighter and squeezed his eyes shut.

With one swift sweep of his arm Itachi had flung the boy into the air and over his shoulder, taking off almost instantly. His head and stomach throbbed as the fast steps harshly jostled his body, forcing him to grit his teeth to bite back more screams, and then he found himself roughly thrown onto something soft yet firm. Eyes opening with a gasp, he had enough time to recognize he was on top of a bed before Itachi forced his attention back to him, his shadow stretching over him as he crouched over him.

"When it comes to clans with doujutsu, there is a certain taboo regarding the eye," he began, slipping a kunai from the pack on his leg. He pressed it to Masaru's cheek just below his right eye, barely brushing the skin as the boy reflexively winced at the proximity and squeezed his eyelids shut. "Due to our dependence on it we develop an instinctual need to protect our eyes above all else. Ultimately, we begin to tie our eyes to our own value, to the point we would prefer to lose all of our limbs than lose a single eye."

Masaru's breaths grew shaky and sporadic as Itachi spoke, his body shaking violently as he began to quietly sob. Metal glided down his cheek, the cool flat of the kunai dragging a trail of icy tingles in its wake. He heard the metallic sweep of Itachi sheathing his katana before his other hand pressed his cheek, forcing the boy's head to turn onto its side so his ear pressed against the pillow.

"We begin to abhor inflicting such injuries on opponents," he whispered, his breath warm on Masaru's ear and his voice echoing in his eardrums. "We project our own insecurities onto our opponents, instinctually viewing such attacks as a torment no one deserves. We target every weak spot we can save for the eyes. It overrides other basic instincts, allowing us to give our opponents openings to attack."

Then bright pain surged from the side of his head and Masaru's eyes snapped open, gasping in shock. Warmth rolled over the side of his skull and trickled down his cheek, drops of red dripping past his eye. The elder Uchiha drew back from him and removed his hand from his skull, a blood-stained kunai dropping on the pillow in front of Masaru's face. The young boy winced and rolled his head to stare upward, wincing as he felt blood slosh around the side of his skull.

"W-w-what," he rasped, aware of how strange his voice sounded as he shakily raising a hand towards his head. His fingers threaded through his tangled locks, his fingertips brushing against sticky skin before grazing something soft and fleshy. Sharp pain exploded once more as the object shifted and he screamed, his voice sounding raw and hurt and weird and _wrong_.

Above him Itachi merely watched with an impassive gaze, his features blurring as tears filled Masaru's eyes. "Struggling will make the blood loss worse," he commented blandly, sounding slightly muffled and off-kilter. "You would be better to just remain still." He gripped Masaru's chin and forced the boy to meet his gaze, the tomoe spinning faster and faster until they blurred into a ring of blades, each one bent sharply and connecting directly to the next.

The world tinted red, and Masaru finally passed out.


	8. Chapter 7: Echoes of Akari (I)

(A/N: Quick warning, this chapter is actually unedited. I got the idea yesterday and decided to put this in before the next chapter, and I _just_ finished typing it so it might have mistakes. I've actually had this particular chapter in mind for a while, but I only got a _really_ good idea on how to do it yesterday so I typed it today. That said, I'm actually _really_ happy with how it came out, and while I won't ever hold this story hostage by refusing to update until I get "x" reviews, I _really_ want to hear your guys' thoughts on it. I've been writing fan fiction on various sites for over ten years now, and I can say from experience that almost nothing motivates me to write more than knowing that people enjoy my work. This story is fun to write and I have some glorious plans in mind for the future, so I really want to know if you're enjoying it as much as I am.

So please, leave a review! On that note I'll be posting another chapter sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday, and I'll probably be reviewing this chapter at that point to catch any other errors. For now, enjoy!

 **Warning: there is mildly graphic descriptions of violence towards the end. Specifically, references to the aftermath of the massacre, Masaru's physical condition and damage to eyeballs.**

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

 _"The words 'once upon a time' always bring to mind Disney-style fairy tales about princesses and heroes and magical journeys with talking animals and magic. There's a bit of trouble and some bad wizard or giant who needs to die, but at the end the good guys win and are rewarded for their efforts with gold or happiness or a wife.  
_

 _Have you ever read Grimm's Fairy Tales? Most of them don't end 'happily ever after'. Disney has to add that in."_

* * *

 _Once upon a time, a little boy who thought himself a man saw every person he loved and held dear to his heart die right in front of his eyes._

Strangled cries of dead people's names died on his lips as he'd wake in his bed in the middle of the night, his sleep-addled mind still conjuring flashes of the coppery tang of blood in the air as he sucked in sharp, ragged breaths. Flashes of familiar faces filled with pain, regret, suffering, despair stared at him from his eyelids whenever he closed his eyes, light fading from their eyes even as he looked straight into them.

Grief and remorse haunted his every step, his every waking moment, until finally he forced himself to close off his heart lest the pain become too much to bear. He decided to live the only way he could think of to honor the memories of his now-gone precious people, and thus lived solely to perform his duty to the village which so many of them sacrificed their lives to protect. The uniform of the ANBU became his armor, the mask shielding him from the overwhelming regret that defined his life.

Dried blood still clung to his jounin uniform when he visited the memorial stone that day, barely an hour after returning from yet another mission full of death and carnage. Going home to clean off briefly crossed his mind, but as usual his legs had carried him to the training grounds to greet the only reminder of his teammates.

He had seen plenty of other visitors in the past, but the sight of a little girl with a red and white fan on her back still caught him by surprise.

His covered eye burned behind his hitai-ate as he stared at the familiar crest connected to so many beautiful and painful memories, his heart wrenching with a renewed sense of regret. Outwardly he kept his cool as he approached, stopping to stand next to her without a word. Wisps of a one-sided conversation tapered away as he drew close, and the girl stood in silence by the time he reached her side.

As his eyes skimmed over the list of names he'd read so many times he could probably write them from memory, he could feel the girl fidget next to him. A downward glance from the corner of his eye revealed two black orbs peering at him curiously, and they quickly averted back to the stone. After a moment the girl spared him one more brief glance before turning away once more, and he felt a small tingle of amusement as he noted her gaze flicker one last time to the blood on his pants.

This marked the first encounter between Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Akari, and it would become the first of many.

Over the ensuing months Kakashi would visit the memorial to find her speaking in hushed tones and trailing into silence when he approached. The presence of a small Uchiha girl admittedly piqued his curiosity, as he knew that the Uchiha clan had its own cemetery where they would erect gravestones even for those whose bodies never returned. He concluded she must be visiting a non-Uchiha acquaintance, yet even that idea seemed rather out of character for the heavily isolated Uchiha clan.

Technically speaking, it wasn't his business. But all good ninja developed a healthy curiosity, and his reached the point that Kakashi finally gave in. Sneaking up on her to overhear her conversation briefly crossed his mind, but then Kakashi realized that would be a lot of effort for a kid who couldn't be older than six. Not to mention rude, he didn't want anyone to spy on his conversations with Obito or Rin or Minato-sensei.

So for once in his life, he decided to go for a direct approach.

"You know, I see you here a lot," he commented one day, and the girl visibly started at the sound of his voice, jumping to the side with a loud gasp. Once her initial surprise wore off, she relaxed and slowly nodded.

"You too, shinobi-san," she replied, turning back to the stone, and Kakashi nodded.

"Who do you come for?" he asked, his voice dropping to a softer and more gentle note. To her credit the girl didn't really react to the question, looking thoughtful before answering.

"My uncle and dad," she replied quietly, and he felt his eyebrows rise. The mystery deepened, he thought sardonically. Her eyes flitted to him once more, and after a moment of clear hesitation she asked, "What about you?"

The question sent sharp pangs of grief through Kakashi because _of course_ she would ask that, he should have expected that since he'd asked first. Sometimes he really hated how socially stunted he was. When he didn't answer right away, the girl quickly began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and said, "Um, you don't have to answer. I know it's personal and probably painful."

Silent gratitude flooded him at not having to answer, and he nodded. "Thank you. Though if you don't mind me asking, then why did you answer when I asked?" She blinked, clearly caught off-guard by the question, and after a moment she turned back to the rock with a shrug.

"Well, I guess because I never actually knew them?" Her voice ended on a slightly higher note that made it sound like a question, telling him she was sounding out her reasoning even as she spoke. "They both died before we were born." 'We,' not 'I,' he noted absently, suggesting she might be a twin. "Mom doesn't really talk about dad that much, but she tells us a lot about our uncle. Masaru likes to talk to his grave, so I decided to come here to talk to him since it has his name too."

Something about the name Masaru sparked something in Kakashi's mind, dredging up some forgotten snippet of information deep in his memories, and the silver-haired ANBU began rooting through his thoughts until—

 _Oh,_ he thought lamely. _She's one of Ryoko's kids._

Kakashi had met Uchiha Ryoko several times back when he still had a team, the woman often showing up at training sessions to bring Obito his forgotten lunch or dragging the perpetually tardy boy to meetings so he'd arrive on time for once. She had struck him as friendly and warm, and while she'd been taken off the roster due to a nervous breakdown following a certain traumatic event before the team's formation, even as an admittedly snot-nosed elitist brat he still held a certain respect for her.

And Kakashi also knew Ryoko and her husband Ryuusuke had no siblings.

A fresh wave of guilt washed over him as he looked at the small girl next to him, because how could he not feel guilty when he was the one responsible for the death of her uncle? His gifted eye burned even more painfully at the bitter realization that Ryoko had never truly stopped mourning for Obito if she went so far as to tell her children about him as an uncle-like figure. They probably would have grown up calling him Uncle Obito, and Obito would probably hound him and Rin with photos and proud stories of their smallest accomplishments—

Kakashi pushed the thoughts away before it became too painful, instead swallowing and slowly nodding. "I see," he murmured, his voice just slightly more strained than usual. To his relief she didn't pick up on it, and instead they fell silent as they regarded the memorial once more until he finally disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

After that, Kakashi didn't visit the memorial for a while. Just thinking of Akari filled him with sharp stabs of shame, because that little girl represented the bright future Obito could have had if he'd lived. The future Kakashi stole from Obito due to his disgraceful actions that fateful day. He couldn't stomach facing her or Obito, not anymore. Akari visited Obito enough, and surely he'd prefer to keep her company over the man who caused his death.

A month passed with Kakashi steadily avoiding the memorial, and then one day he heard a tap at his window and turned to find a gray cat staring at him with a rolled-up piece of paper tied to its neck.

Cats and Kakashi did not totally mix. Some people liked to jokingly compare him to one due to his aloof and independent nature, but Kakashi had a much stronger connection to dogs due to the fact that he summoned them. He also knew that ninneko had a connection to the Uchiha, so the presence of one made his stomach churn.

Nonetheless, he sucked it up and opened his window to let the feline visitor inside, knowing better than to ignore it. Slinking inside and stepping onto the desk, the cat sank to its haunches as its bushy tail curled around its legs, its head held high and its posture giving it an unbelievably regal air. Pear-colored eyes bore into Kakaashi as it tilted its head back to expose its neck, allowing him to untie the small piece of paper. Once he'd taken it the cat rose again and leapt out the window, disappearing into the streets.

Unrolling the small sheet, Kakashi found a somewhat brief note in vaguely familiar handwriting.

' _Kakashi, my daughter Akari told me she met a shinobi at the memorial and he hasn't visited the memorial recently. She didn't know your name but I assumed she meant you since I don't know any other people have silver hair and one eye covered. Akari is very worried and thinks you might have died. I won't claim to know why you stopped visiting, and I know we haven't spoken in years, but I want you to know this:_

 _I do not blame you. What happened that day is tragic, but Obito chose to die and gave you his eye. If I know Obito half as well as I think I do, I doubt he would want me to spend my time seething in hatred and anger at you for something he did. I also know he would not want you to suddenly avoid the memorial out of a misplaced sense of guilt. For all your fighting, I think he considered you a good friend, even if he didn't realize it._

 _I hope you start visiting again. Akari would be relieved to learn that you're fine, and I think Obito misses you too._

 _-Uchiha Ryoko_ '

When he finished reading it Kakashi felt numb, his mouth dry and Obito's eye stinging even more than usual as he stared at the piece of paper.

The next day he went to the memorial and found Akari waiting there, and when she turned and saw him approach her eyes lit up with a relief so heavy that he felt another wave of guilt for making her worry about him.

 _Once upon a time, the boy who thought himself a man met a little girl whose eyes shined so bright they could penetrate the bleakest night, and a smile so warm it could melt the ice off the mountains._

From then on, Kakashi made an effort to talk to Akari more often. Nothing deep and personal, just little comments. Fierce determination sparkled in her eyes when she spoke of her desire to become a powerful kunoichi, though not necessarily called as such. "Everyone always calls Tsunade one of the strongest kunoichi," she commented. "Like the fact that she's strong for a _kunoichi_ is special. I don't want to be known as a strong kunoichi, I want to be known as one of the most skilled people, man or woman."

"Well, if anyone can do it, I'm sure you can, Akari-chan," Kakashi demurred, his eye crinkling in a smile, and she broke into a proud grin that filled him with warmth. He had broken into the academy at this point to peruse her records, and he could tell that even for a first-year student she showed incredible potential. Not genius-level like him or Itachi, but still well above average. She scored higher than all the other girls and ranked within the top five students.

Casual observations during subsequent encounters led Kakashi to realize she had a bit more than just that, though. He noticed that Akari would often notice him approach even when he tried to mask his presence, and on more than one occasion he noticed her gaze absently flickering to their surroundings. Every time his heightened sense of smell allowed him to catch the scent of other people in whatever direction she glanced, obviously fellow ninja using the training grounds.

After a month of observing her like that, Kakashi reached the conclusion that Uchiha Akari had a natural capacity for sensing, and that she had yet to realize it. The realization only heightened her appreciation for the girl, and he felt a growing sense of anticipation. Akari glowed with a raw potential that made his heart race as he thought of the person she could become, and for the first time in his life, Kakashi wanted to help shape that potential.

Then one day while walking through the marketplace he suddenly noticed that he was contemplating how to tell the Hokage he _might_ be willing to take on a genin squad in a few years _if_ it had her on it.

"Shit," he groaned aloud, banging his head on a nearby wall and startling the nearby pedestrians.

Against all odds Hatake Kakashi had grown attached to a seven-year-old girl. Obito must be rolling around laughing his butt off at his expense.

The realization he cared for Akari scared him. For years Kakashi had closed off his heart and pushed others away, erecting a wall to keep himself isolated so he wouldn't reel in the pain of loss. Right now their unlikely friendship would be fine, but if he became Akari's teacher like he apparently desired, her life would be in his hands. Every time he looked in a mirror he was reminded of his failures, and the idea of possibly making another mistake _terrified_ him.

And as he stood in the middle of a busy street with his head leaning against a wall, Kakashi decided that he would never let that happen. He would never lose another comrade as long as he could prevent it.

So kept speaking to Akari at the memorial, letting himself become more relaxed and lighthearted around her. Gradually Kakashi stopped closing himself off from his friends, and stopped fighting their attempts to nudge him back into the fold.

He began responding to challenges from Gai rather than avoiding the boisterous man who loudly declared them eternal rivals. He accepted invitations to join Genma, Raidou and Aoba for drinks at bars. He still turned down similar invitations from Anko, but that was just common sense. Initially he found interacting with his old friends to be a bit awkward after going so long without talking to him, but they welcomed him with open arms and helped him ease back into the swing of things.

Life began to perk up for Kakashi, and for the first time in years he found himself genuinely smiling as he teased Asuma about long-standing suspicions of a possible romantic affection towards Kurenai. He even started dragging Tenzo, sweet, innocent, lovable socially awkward Tenzo, away from the confines of the ANBU headquarters into public settings to force him to interact with their peers. The icy numbness that had once dictated his daily routines began to thaw, and Kakashi basked in the warmth of his comrades for the first time in years.

Then, one night, everything changed.

In all his years as ANBU, Kakashi had seen many horrible things. He had witnessed acts of cruelty so awful, so unspeakably evil that some of his comrades immediately resigned following the mission's completion. He thought he'd numbed himself to violence, that nothing could disturb him anymore.

But as he and a full ANBU battalion stood at the gates of the Uchiha clan district, staring at corpses strewn all about the street, he realized he'd never been more wrong in his life.

His heart hammered dangerously loud in his ears in the resounding silence that filled the area, his blood colder than ice as his stomach painfully sank with an overwhelming sense of dread. The Hokage's authoritative voice boomed out orders to scour for survivors, and no sooner had the words left his mouth than Kakashi darted forward, breaking away from the ranks of ANBU.

Months had passed since his last visit to the Uchiha clan compound to fetch Itachi for an urgent mission, and he didn't know the layout very well, but he knew where to go. His legs carried him down a familiar path he hadn't visited in used in years, vaguely noticing that two of his subordinates had broken off to follow him, before finally a dark house came into sight. The partially-open door nearly tore off its hinges at the force he used to shove it open, uncaring of the damage as he raced inside.

His heart pounded harder and harder as the rotten tang of blood and death assaulted his nose, even clearer in the confined space of the house. He knew instantly that at least one person had already died here, their corpse hours old. However, beneath that he noticed a fresher scent, blood still new and exposed, and with his heart in his throat Kakashi followed it to a closed door.

Flinging it open with enough force to crack the wood, Kakashi felt his breath hitch at the sight he found. A small boy laid atop a bloody mattress with his eyes closed and his face too too pale even in the dim light, his features contorted in agony and the right side of his head covered in blood. Torn bed sheets wrapped around his torso as a makeshift bandage and a large red spot stained the white fabric above his stomach, the color vibrant and fresh. Kakashi could see his chest rising and falling, his breaths shallow and ragged, but he breathed nonetheless.

His training kicked in and Kakashi flickered to the boy's side, tearing off his porcelain mask as he began checking his vitals while one of his subordinates silently ran off to get help. Based upon the position of the blood stain and the color, the stab wound had missed any vital organs. A closer look at his head revealed the blood came not from a stab to the brain but instead the torn remains of his ear, largely sliced away from his skull and attached by a few slivers of skin, but still largely intact.

As he continued surveying the boy's condition he heard his subordinate return with more people in tow, and soon enough an ANBU agent with a badger mask appeared next to him. "I'm a medical ninja, let me look," she ordered brusquely, and Kakashi acquiesced as he stepped aside so she could take over caring for him. With the immediate risk taken care of Kakashi quickly departed the room to resume his search of the house.

He got barely three steps when he felt a hand grip his shoulder, and he turned to see the Third Hokage standing behind him, his face grave.

"Don't go any further," he ordered softly, and Kakashi stared at him in surprise before frowning.

"What? But, sir, I need to—"

"Kakashi, don't go any further," the Third repeated, and his eyes held a tinge of unmistakable remorse and sadness. Kakashi opened his mouth to question the order, because how could he _not_ look for one of his precious people, when suddenly he heard a cry of horror from someone else in the house. Instantly he turned to pursue the source, but before he could move the Third grabbed both shoulders and held him back.

As Kakashi began to struggle to break free the Third barked right in his ear, "That's an order! Do not look any more, Kakashi, you have already seen too much!" The firm tone made Kakashi instantly stiffened and relaxed in the leader's grip, his head bowing sharply. Once he felt certain Kakashi wouldn't try to disobey him, the Third released him and ordered him to search the rest of the compound, and Kakashi obeyed without another word.

Later he would learn that Uchiha Itachi had committed the massacre, killing everyone in his clan save his brother Sasuke, Uchiha Masaru and Uchiha Akari.

Instead Akari died at the hands of her own mother.

When he read the report, Kakashi felt nothing but numbness and utter revulsion. Her head had been cleaved from her body and her eyeballs shredded to bits, shreds of the tissue found on Ryoko's bloody fingernails and her blood on the woman's sword. A deep slash in the back told them that Ryoko herself had fallen to Itachi, but not before carving out her own eyeballs with a kunai.

For what little he knew Ryoko, Kakashi had known her to be unstable. He knew she had been growing increasingly unhinged and anxious even in the short amount of time he knew her during his time on Team Seven. Killing her own child so she wouldn't suffer at the hands of a killer felt tragically and horrifically in line with her high-strung nature. No doubt she would have done the same to Masaru, too, she may have even been waiting for his return when Itachi killed her.

Perhaps Itachi had chosen to spare Masaru after seeing the gruesome sight, a sort of twisted pity for a boy whose mother had gone mad in her final moments. A twinge of a conscience which had otherwise eluded him that horrible night.

In any event though, it hardly mattered. Akari, one of his few precious people, the girl who had helped bright light back to his world, had died. Once again Kakashi found himself faced with overwhelming loss and guilt for not doing enough, for not seeing signs soon enough. But this time, as he stood at the memorial honoring her and all the other victims, he realized he wasn't alone.

Tenzo and Gai stood beside him in silent commiseration, Asuma, Genma, Raidou and Aoba lined up around him almost like a protective formation while Kurenai stood on his other side with a comforting hand squeezing his shoulder. As he slowly realized all these people had come there just to support him, Kakashi felt the walls he'd built around himself start to crumble a bit more.

His borrowed eye burned as something warm and wet began to trickle down his cheek. Before he could even realize what it was he suddenly found himself enveloped in scores of arms, soft promises of _we're here for you_ and _everything will be okay_ barely registering as everyone pressed against him. More warmth trailed down his other cheek from his own eye as he began shaking violently, and Kakashi just closed his eyes as he let himself sink into the warmth.

 _Once upon a time the boy who thought himself a man met a little girl who broke the walls he built around his heart. Then one day that little girl died, and when she did he became a boy again._


	9. Chapter 8: Craving Cotton Candy

Chapter 8

* * *

 _"You know what's soft and sweet and fluffy? Cotton candy. I want tooth-rotting sugary cotton candy, not teeth-shattering yucky charcoal-texture asparagus and broccoli. Life doesn't really give you what you want though, does it?"_

* * *

Masaru woke up in a hospital bed and screamed.

Unfamiliar people flooded the room instantly, surrounding him in a sea of blurry white forms. Burning pain continued to cloud his mind, leaving him barely aware of his surroundings. His stomach, his ear, his eye, it all hurt so bad, _so so bad_. A swirling kaleidoscope of red and black flashed in his mind, his heart spiking in fear as he tried to lurch to his feet and flee.

Firm hands pinned his legs and arms to the mattress though, and he began thrashing and flailing against them, shrieking again in a voiceless plea for the pain to stop. Slick latex-coated fingers brushed his hair away from his face and more hands held his head down, keeping it steady as a mask slipped over his mouth.

Masaru had no memory of passing out. He simply woke up in bed feeling groggy and sleepy, his mind hazy and wanting to go back to sleep. Quiet voices murmured around him, whispering about vitals and trauma and permanent injury. Masaru ignored them and rolled onto his side, snuggling into his pillow as he tried to let sleep claim him. As he did the voices mercifully stopped, making it easier to fall asleep.

Of course they wouldn't let him though.

"Uchiha-san?" a soft voice prodded, and his eyebrows twitched in annoyance, hugging the pillow tighter. "Uchiha-san, please don't go back to sleep yet." No, he wanted to sleep. The voices didn't give him a chance though, and soon he found himself forced to roll over, the back of the bed lifting with a mechanical whir to leave him reclining rather than lying flat.

Moaning, Masaru tried to voice his irritation but found himself unable to conjugate his thoughts aloud, his voice little more than a slurred groan when he tried to speak. "Here, you need to drink," another voice said, and he felt something press against his lips, a straw. Suddenly realized just how thirsty he felt, and so he eagerly sipped it, allowing the cool refreshing liquid to wash down his throat.

With his hydration came a renewed alertness, his senses rousing and becoming clearer. He was inside a hospital room, he realized. Medical ninja flitted about the room, their baggy white uniforms and puffy hats gradually coming into focus as the last remnants of sleep faded from his eyes. An IV drip dug into his left arm, the sensation slightly uncomfortable but not particularly painful.

Frowning, he raised his other hand to rub his eyes only to wince as he felt a dull ache in his side. Glancing down, his eyes widened as he glimpsed bandages swathing his torso, several layers of thick, plushy white pads pressed against a singular spot on his stomach. Flashes of a red-stained blade flickered through his mind, the sharp pain blooming in his abdomen in time with the blossom of red—

Masaru didn't even notice he was screaming before nurses rushed forward, doing their best to soothe him.

Needless to say, the first few hours after waking up were... unpleasant.

* * *

"I am sorry, Masaru-kun."

The last thing Masaru ever expected to hear was an apology from the Hokage, but here he was, listening to the strongest shinobi in the village offering his sincerest condolences with a sympathetic look. Masaru just stared at the ceiling blankly, only refraining from curling up into a fetal position due to his reluctance to stretch the wound in his stomach further. The Hokage's words echoed in his brain, making his thoughts churn violently.

Four nights ago, Uchiha Itachi had gone on a rampage within the compound. In the span of a single night, the near entirety of the Uchiha clan had fallen to his sword, from ten-year-old rookie genin Akira to old bedridden Aunt Himiko. Masaru had returned shortly after the massacre began, yet by that time so many of his clansmen had already fallen. Itachi had shown no mercy to them, and yet—

And yet, Masaru survived.

He was battered and bleeding, his mind permanently scarred, but he was alive. He almost wished he wasn't though.

"Akari," he rasped, pressing his hands into his eyes and pushing down until spots swirled behind his eyelids. "What about, Akari..."

"I am sorry," the Hokage replied simply, and Masaru felt the world shatter.

* * *

Masaru would be spending the next few weeks in the hospital. According to the doctors, Itachi's sword had missed any vital organs, the most damage simply rising from blood loss. The wound would barely even scar, they assured him, offering him reassuring smiles meant to assuage any anxiety. Not like he particularly cared.

However, his head was another story.

Scratchy bandages wound tightly around his skull, digging into his skin and hair as they secured another white patch over the right side of his skull. He remembered how Itachi had forced his head to turn on its side, blood seeping into his vision as the world grew partially muffled. Masaru now knew it was because his ear had been sliced almost clean off his skull, attached only by a thin sliver of flesh.

Doctors managed to reattach it, so his head wouldn't look lopsided, but their repairs only extended to a cosmetic level. Irreparable damage had been done to the inner workings of his ear, physically shredded by the kunai and too delicate for them to completely repair. Perhaps someone else could fix it, but no one at the hospital had enough experience working with ears to feel comfortable attempting it.

In short, Masaru would most likely never hear from his right ear again.

The realization had been mind-numbing. Partial deafness could be a crippling blow to any ninja's career, it provided a significant handicap. But somehow, Masaru found he didn't mind too much.

Itachi's bone-chilling whispers about the importance of eyes echoed in his mind, the memory of the cold steel of the kunai pressing against his cheek just inches below his eyelid making him shudder even now. Everything about his words and actions led Masaru to expect Itachi to gouge out his eyeballs. He'd even felt a bit of pain in his right eye when he woke up that first time, his mind in utter anarchy. In comparison, losing his hearing in one ear barely bothered him.

But he'd gladly give up both eyes if he could change the outcome of that night.

A soft click drew him from his thoughts, and Masaru exhaled softly through his nose as he let his eyelids droop shut. The stream of visitors never seemed to end, whether it be doctors or ANBU guards, and it exhausted him. Footsteps approached his bedside, soft and light on the tile floor before stopping. Fingers hesitantly brushed his arm, trembling as they brushed against his skin, and his eyes snapped open in surprise to find a pair of black orbs boring into him.

Uchiha Sasuke stood beside him, staring at him wide-eyed. His hand snapped away from Masaru's arm upon realizing he was awake, so fast his arm became little more than a dark blur, but he didn't look away. "You're... y-you're..." He began to whisper but his voice quickly tapered off, unable to vocalize his thoughts.

A long moment of silence passed, neither boy speaking as they just soaked in each other's appearances. Heavy bags hung under Sasuke's eyes, suggesting he hadn't particularly slept well, and his skin seemed paler than usual. Aside from that though he seemed fine, but the look in his eyes said otherwise. Though Sasuke had always been a bit withdrawn when it came to showing his emotions, right now his eyes looked empty. Unfeeling.

 _Dead_.

Yet as the pair continued staring at each other, something sparked in Sasuke's onyx orbs. Hesitating, he reached out a shaky hand and carefully wrapped his fingers around Masaru's wrist. Reflexively Masaru's fingers curled inwards and a breath caught in his throat, the touch sending a shockwave of tingles through his body. Sasuke's hand jerked back as if shocked—and maybe he _was_ shocked, if he felt anything close to what Msaru just felt—and he stared at Masaru with widening eyes.

"You're alive," he breathed, sounding disbelieving. Then his face scrunched up, gritting his teeth as he obviously tried to keep himself from crying. "H-how?"

The question made Masaru wince, feeling his shock fade into a blank mask as he recalled the hellish experience. The cold look in Itachi's eyes, the sharp pain that had clouded his senses, the intense terror that had dominated his entire being. The rush of memories washed over him swift and heavy, yet instead of panic and anxiety, he felt... nothing. Only numbness remained in its wake.

Next to him Sasuke stiffened, the spark fading from his eyes as his face fell blank, quickly averting his gaze. "...Don't answer," he muttered. "You... don't have to." Masaru just nodded, his gaze focused on his lap. Thick silence lapsed over them once more, this one heavier than before.

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a blur, Masaru mostly restricted to bed rest as he recovered from his injuries with daily physical therapy sessions. He missed the memorial held the day before he woke up, but Sasuke assured him he missed nothing, his voice taking on a slightly bitter note as he said so. Whether his bitterness was directed at the event, the situation, or maybe even himself, Masaru couldn't tell. But he at least knew that it wasn't directed at him.

While Sasuke treated everyone else coolly and kept them at a distance, he let the facade slip around Masaru, his cold glower softening to a simply hollow look. He visited Masaru in the hospital every day, sitting in the chair by his bedside for hours on end even if they never spoke. During this time Sasuke's eighth birthday rolled around, and they spent the day in his hospital room, both glaring at the two slices of cake a nurse brought them.

"I don't even like sweet stuff," Sasuke grumbled with a pout.

"I don't think I'm allowed to eat it yet," Masaru complained sullenly. Having a hole in his stomach meant he couldn't eat whatever he wanted, which made staring at the cake torture. All in all, Sasuke's eighth birthday was not a happy one for either Uchiha boy.

The next day Sasuke returned to the academy with promises to visit after class. Masaru still had another two weeks before the doctors would allow him to return to class, and even then he'd have to refrain from the more physical activities. The sterile hospital room felt suffocating by this point, leaving the bedridden boy feeling as if he'd been locked in a bright white prison.

When the doctors finally permitted Masaru to leave the hospital for a walk, Masaru jumped on the chance. Dressed in a clean set of clothes someone kindly retrieved from his house, he slipped into the streets and silently made his way across town, careful to avoid the busier areas. Whispers echoed around him as pedestrians glimpsed the red and white fan emblazoned on his back, the proud symbol of his once-great clan making him even more notable now that only two remained in Konoha.

Distantly, Masaru wondered where he was going, his legs seeming to be on autopilot. Sasuke would still be in class at the moment, but he didn't particularly feel like going to the academy and facing the barrage of questions. The Uchiha clan compound and his house briefly crossed his mind, but he shuddered at the memory of the corpses strewn about the streets, the overwhelming terror as Itachi easily mutilated him on his mother's bed.

Ultimately, he hardly felt surprised when his path took him to the cemetery.

Slowly walking past the rows of headstones, his gaze briefly flickered towards the large marble slab erected towards the edge of the field, the stone shiny and unworn just like Shisui's grave had once been. Mountains of flowers surrounded it in a blend of red and white, a respectful tribute to the Uchiha clan's crest.

According to Sasuke most of the clan had been cremated, their remains scattered to the wind and their names engraved on the single memorial stone. Only a precious few relatives received their own burials: those who either already had immediate family already buried there, like a child or spouse... or those who held particular importance to the two survivors.

Gaze gliding over the colorful flower arrangements decorating a handful of graves scattered about the cemetery, suddenly Masaru found blackness overtook his vision. It took a moment to realize he'd pressed his hands into his eyes again, and he gritted his teeth, allowing the spots to spin and swirl behind closed lids as he turned. His legs took a mind of their own once more, weaving expertly through the maze of tombstones as his feet mechanically traced a path he'd followed countless times before.

When he finally removed his hands and allowed his vision to clear, he stood before the empty grave of Uchiha Obito.

Masaru plopped down on the grass next to it, leaning his back against the slab bearing his deceased pseudo-uncle's name. A shuddery breath passed his lips, the young boy tilting his head back towards the sky and closing his eyes. The sounds of the world seemed to grow more muffled, the world receding into nothingness until only he and the stone slab remained.

Vaguely, he felt like someone was watching, but then, he felt that a lot when he came here. It comforted him, made him think maybe Obito was watching over him.

"I don't want to talk to them," he whispered after a long while. "I'm used to you not saying anything, but... Mom and Akari..." He trailed off, his heart wrenching painfully. He had grown up speaking to Obito only as a name on a tombstone; he had never heard Obito's voice, never actually had a conversation with him. His family, on the other hand—

He'd never his mother's laugh again. He'd never hear his sister's delighted gasps. He'd never hear their synchronized giggles carefully timed to thoroughly unnerve him. Ryoko would never wake him in the middle of the night with her nightmare-induced screams. Akari would never whisper soft lullabies to herself as she tried to ignore the raging thunderstorms.

They would never kiss him on the cheek, pull him into a tight embrace, hold his hand and whisper soft words of encouragement when he felt down. Never again would his mother lift her paintbrush and stroke life onto blank canvas, never again would Akari's shuriken hit the targets dead-center, never again would he and Akari argue over what flavor of cake they wanted for their birthday or whose favorite dinner should be served that year.

Blackness consumed his vision once more as his palms buried into his eyes, his body wracked with violent tremors.

Akari, his twin sister, his other half, his greatest friend, was dead.

No loss felt as heavy as hers, not even their mother's. He and Akari had been together from the moment they were born, their personalities growing around each other to fill in the gaps the other left. Even if they drifted towards different people at school no one could compare to the bond they shared, no one had the same magnetic pull that they felt towards each other.

Bitter tears leaked from beneath his palms and rolled down his cheeks, a choked sound escaping his lips. "Why," he croaked. "Why...?" Why was she there? Why wasn't she at the hospital? Why did she die? Why did he live? Why did he have to be the one who was alone? Why couldn't they both live? Why couldn't they both have died?

Masaru just spent hours grieving next to the grave of a man he never met, his eyes burning under his palms as he mourned the loss of his most precious person.

 _That night, Masaru dreamed of a boy strapped to a table in a dark room, thick cloth stuffed into his mouth and bandages wrapped around his eyes._

 _Delicate fingers slowly untied the knot and began unwinding the gauze one layer at a time, and when the final layer fell away the boy's eyelids twitched before the right lid slowly parted. A dark onyx orb stared blankly above, unfocused and unseeing. Flecks of crimson flickered and red swiftly bled into the blackness, spreading to fill the iris and smoothly flowing around the outlines of three tomoe._

 _"Live," a voice commanded in a whisper, and the eye exploded into a bloody sunburst, the tomoe stretching into slender, wispy tendrils extending from a small black sun._

 _The eye still burned into his mind as his eyes shot open with a ragged breath, cold sweat clinging to his skin._

Live _, the whisper repeated in his head, and all Masaru could do was whisper, "_ How? _"_

* * *

 _(A/N:_ There's still one more chapter of angst to go, and then this arc will be over and we'll move onto the beginning of canon! But at this point the angst is starting to get to be a bit much, so if you need something lighter, I wrote a story called "The Great Akatsuki versus Spider Battle" which you can find on my profile.

Some other story recommendations from my favorites: "Dead Parenting" by FriTik, "How to Obtain a Reverse-Harem in Naruto" by darkpetal16, and a lot of stuff by Ninjagrrl but I specifically want to recommend "Peace, Love and Unicorns," "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Owe" and "Curious Itachi Meets the Friendly Puppy". If you guys have any other funny story recommendations, let me know in the comments! I think I can use some more humor too.)


	10. Chapter 9: Like Getting Drunk

Chapter 9

* * *

"Grief is like getting drunk. Everyone reacts to alcohol differently, just like everyone grieves differently. Some people just blubber and wail at the top of their lungs at the littlest trigger. Others get into fist fights because they think someone blinked at them the wrong way. Though I wonder about the people who smile and laugh while grieving..."

* * *

Masaru and Sasuke didn't go back to the compound, they couldn't with the painful memories it held. Instead the village moved them into a small, two-bedroom apartment, filled with brand new furniture, new dishware, new clothes, new everything.

When Masaru first arrived, the apartment felt empty, its blank white walls cold and unwelcoming. Sasuke had already moved in earlier that week, but he hadn't brought anything from his old house, or purchased anything new aside from what the village provided. No personal traces existed, no decorations like the paintings or carvings that adorned the walls of his own home, nothing that would tell a visitor that _they_ lived here instead of some random stranger. It made it feel even lonelier.

He and Sasuke didn't speak much those first two days, their interactions limited as Masaru continued to rest in his room on doctor's orders. Two chairs and a small wooden folding table found their way into his bedroom, Sasuke joining him for meals and working on homework in silence. More than once they would glance up and open their mouths as if to speak, but their words would die on their lips and they would lower their heads once more.

Once Monday arrived, the boys made their way to the academy in silence, instinctively walking close together. Over three weeks had passed since Masaru had last attended class, and as the string of buildings comprising the academy came into sight he felt his chest tighten. Their new apartment lay in a different direction from the compound, the angle as they approached the academy filling him with a conflicting sense of recognition and unfamiliarity.

More and more eyes focused on them as they drew closer, his head hanging lower in response. Heavy attention had always left the naturally introverted Masaru uncomfortable, hence why he usually remained quiet. With his extended absence and newfound status as one of only two Uchiha though, it was only natural everyone would suddenly notice him. He shifted uncomfortably and stepped a little closer to Sasuke, his gaze focused on his feet as he tried to ignore all the gazes.

As such, he didn't notice the yellow blur racing at him until he found himself tackled to the ground.

Falling onto his back with a startled yelp, Masaru stared at the sky with a stunned look on his face before his eyes slid to the blond blob atop him. Cerulean eyes peered down at him, bright and shiny and looking ready to cry. "Masaru," a familiar voice croaked, "I missed you so much!" Mildly dazed and confused by the sudden assault, it took him a couple of seconds to recognize the face and voice.

 _Naruto_.

" _Uzumaki Naruto, get off him right now!_ "

The loud, booming voice of one of their teachers cut through the silence, prompting Naruto to startle and jump off Masaru. Before Masaru could react the teacher appeared and grabbed the small blond by the arm, scowling at him as Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. Masaru quickly sat up, darting a brief glance at a surprised-looking Sasuke before the teacher's hiss drew his attention once more. "Don't you dare touch Uchiha-san ever again!"

"B-but, Masaru—"

" _Shut up!_ " the man hissed, and Naruto winced as his grip tightened, giving a small whimper of pain. "You have no business speaking to him so familiarly, you damn demon brat!"

His words seemed to resonate through the schoolyard, muffling all other sounds until only echoes of his voice remained. _Demon brat. Demon brat. Demon brat._

 _"Sorry, it's just—it's just really cool to have a friend, you know?" Naruto said, smiling sheepishly as they sat at the ramen stand._

Masaru watched numbly as Naruto struggled to escape the teacher's grip, the man's face red as he yelled soundlessly while Naruto looked ready to cry. He felt a touch on his shoulder and turned to see Sasuke looking at him worriedly, his mouth moving yet making no sound. Had his hearing failed? Or was it just shock?

 _Demon brat. Demon brat. Demon brat._

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Masaru closed his eyes and let calmness wash over him, willing the echoes to stop. Sound began filtering through his one good ear once more, and when he opened his eyes again he saw the teacher dragging Naruto away, still glaring and hollering horrific insults at the teary-eyed blond.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to launch his body at the teacher with an angry roar and topple the man to the ground. He wanted to claw and punch him until his face bled raw, his skin shredded to hamburger under his bare fists and his lips split open.

He'd lost so much: his mother, his sister, his right ear, his entire clan, his ability to sleep through the night without horrible visions of bloody pinwheels spinning and twisting into long blades against a crimson sky—

 _"I'm just—I'm just not used to having a friend either," Masaru said, offering a smile so feeble and small, yet full of sincerity._

He didn't want to lose his only friend.

 _So why couldn't he make himself move?_

* * *

The days at the academy blurred. Whispers surrounded Masaru wherever he went, eyes constantly seeming to bore into his back, but he didn't care. Every time Naruto attempted to approach him, adults would chase him off, some subtly redirecting him with little errands while others openly growled at him to keep his distance from "that poor boy". The way they spoke to Naruto made Masaru want to be mad, to be disgusted and irritated at them, but he couldn't.

He felt... nothing.

At lunchtime Masaru would eat lunch with Sasuke, sitting in the training field watching the raven-haired boy spend lunch practicing with kunai and shuriken. Masaru still hadn't been cleared to resume training, but Sasuke seemed a bit more relaxed with him there. He noticed Sasuke became far cooler around others, withdrawing into himself and paying no mind to their classmates.

His previous numbness had swiftly evolved into a chilly, slow-burning resolve, throwing himself into his training and working for hours on end until his fingers blistered and bled, at which point he'd bandage them and resume the next day. They never spoke about it directly, but both knew it stemmed from Sasuke's desire to kill his brother, to avenge their clan. Killing Itachi had become his primary motivation, and he worked on it constantly.

Yet whereas Sasuke grew angry, Masaru just felt more hollow. His work ethic at school floundered, his grief consuming him. Weapon practice always reminded him of his sister's impeccable aim, sparring reminded him of those countless hours spent training at Sasuke's home under Itachi's watchful gaze. The scar on his stomach ached when they went over the various types of swords, his right ear throbbing in tune to the vibrations of his heartbeat.

' _A ninja must never show their tears,_ ' read one of the points on a test listing the Shinobi Rules which dictated their lives. The rules existed because a shinobi must be able to kill their emotions on the field lest they compromise the mission. Right now Masaru seemed to be doing a fine job at that, but he knew instinctively even that resulted from his overwhelming grief, his brain choosing to blank out emotion to keep him from shattering.

He thought about it a lot, lying awake late into the night and staring at the ceiling as sleep refused to come. Death would become more commonplace as he grew older and became a ninja, friends and allies heading onto the battlefield and risking their lives. Familiar faces would be reduced to mere names carved onto a stone, their smiles never to grace his life again as they'd fall one by one.

He'd always been aware of this, he spent most of his free time at the cemetery after all. Yet only now, after losing his sister and mother, did the full implications of it set in.

 _Everyone would die._

All the kids in his class would likely bleed to death on a battlefield miles away from home, their eyes glazed and glassy as color seeped away from their decaying bodies. The clan heirs might live, sheltered in Konoha and protected by their families so they could live to lead the next generations, but what guarantee did he have they'd still survive to old age? Old battle wounds might flare and cause them to fall late in life, their bodies breaking down and unable to bear the strain carried since their teenage years.

Why did he want to become a ninja? Masaru didn't know anymore. Part of him began aching to leave the academy, to set down his kunai forever and become a civilian, get as far away from this life of bloodshed and loss as possible. Just thinking of dealing death with his own hand made his chest constrict and his breath hitch painfully in his throat, but he knew it was not an option.

The crest on his shirt weighed upon his back, a constant reminder of his situation. Only two Uchiha remained in Konoha, the third a traitor who tore away the rest, and that made him far too valuable to the village. Even if the village let him quit, they'd want him to help rebuild the clan to keep the Sharingan in the village, and he couldn't stomach the thought of one day having kids knowing they might die at any moment.

His spirits continued to sink further and further, and within weeks of his return to the academy Masaru had almost completely shut down. He felt like he was wading through a thick fog, his movements slow and strained as he pushed against a heavy force weighing upon his limbs and mind. He barely paid attention in class anymore, mechanically turning pages in tandem with his classmates and filling out answer sheets.

About a month into his return he found himself alone at lunch, vaguely listening to his classmates' voices filter through the open window. Naruto had skipped school that day (not that they ate together anymore, teachers always herded Naruto out the door when the bell rang) and Sasuke had gone to train as usual, and this time he just couldn't bring himself to follow his only clan member to the training fields. Instead he sat alone at his desk in the empty classroom, the world seeming to vanish around him as he quietly picked at his food.

"Um... U-Uchiha-san?"

Empty eyes flickered upwards at the sound of a soft voice stutter, finding a small girl standing in front of his desk. Cherry blossom pink hair framed her face with a bright red ribbon tied at the top, her pale crystal-like green eyes shimmering with uncertainty as she fiddled with her thumbs. The name _Haruno Sakura_ flashed through his mind, drawn from memories of their first day at the academy when everyone introduced themselves.

He cocked his head at her silently, staring at her with a blank look. The girl visibly gulped, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze, and bit her lip. Finally, she took a deep breath and blurted, "I-I'm sorry for your loss!"

Masaru didn't respond, just watched her silently as she dropped her torso into a bow. Plenty of people had approached him and Sasuke to offer their condolences, to the point it barely phased him anymore, so he saw no reason to reply. When he didn't speak, the girl straightened and glanced away, hands reaching up to fiddle with her hair nervously.

"I... I wanted to say, I respected Akari-san," she began, hesitating. "I... I wasn't always too serious about being a ninja, but—when I saw her after school that one day, throwing that kunai and hitting the target without even looking, a-and that stuff she said, it... it really stuck with me, you know?" She paused, taking a deep breath as she collected her thoughts. "It—it inspired me. I've been trying a lot harder, and-and, and made me want to get better."

She trailed off, her green eyes briefly flickering to Masaru before averting once more. "I... never spoke to her, but... I really, I guess, looked up to her. And... I know—I know it's no where near what you feel, but... I—I miss her too. So... I'm really sorry."

With that she dipped into another bow and quickly scurried away. Watching her retreat to the door where a blond girl waited, light began to flicker in Masaru's eyes, something twisting in his heart. His mind took him back to the training field that fateful day in the training field, his twin sister playfully drawing closer to Sasuke before turning and flinging a kunai at the target.

A lump began forming in his throat, the heavy pressure in his chest increasing. It had been a ploy to rile up the girls in their class, to provoke them to work harder after being frustrated by their vanity and shallow ambitions. Akari had performed her plan at the cost of alienating herself from her female peers, playing up the famed Uchiha pride and earning their hostility.

Yet here was a girl he'd never spoken to, who had never approached his sister, and she told him outright that Akari's plan had worked. The name _Haruno Sakura_ flashed through his mind, drawn from memories of their first day at the academy when everyone introduced themselves. She had seemed so unforgettable save for her cherry blossom pink hair, just another one of those girls Akari would have despised for their lack of ambition.

Spots swirled behind his eyelids as he hunched over his lunch with his palms buried into his eyes, nonexistent colors flitting into his vision and overtaking the grayness that had consumed him. Someone else remembered her, someone else had actually taken note from her plan. Someone had been openly inspired by her to change.

Akari might be gone, but her influence still survived, her light still shining on at least one person.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, his lunch left relatively untouched and notes taken mechanically. When classes ended, Masaru did not go back to the apartment with Sasuke. For the first time since that awful night he returned to his home, returned to the blood soaked streets that haunted his nightmares. Traces of blood still stained the pavement and walls and phantom images of desiccated corpses flickered in his vision, but he did his best to ignore it as he headed to his house.

He took off his sandals at the door and ran through the halls until he reached the doors to his mother's study, throwing them open. Shelves upon shelves full of books greeted him, bearing books and scrolls as new as a year old and as old as the country. Eyes roving over the titles as he closed the door behind him, Masaru approached the shelves and rose on his toes to pull one off a higher shelf. _A Basic Guide to Chakra Control_ , the cover said, and he sat at the desk to begin reading.

Dusk had long since fallen when the door opened and Sasuke peered inside, a pensive look on his face. "Masaru?" he called uncertainly, and the brown-haired boy raised his head from the book open in his lap, eyes flitting to the pile of books stacked next to him before looking back to his cousin.

"What time is it?" he asked, and Sasuke frowned, shifting uncomfortably.

"Almost midnight. You... you never came back, so I went looking, a-and..." He trailed off, his discomfort at being back in the compound so late clearly visible on his face. "What... what are you doing here?" Masaru glanced at the pile of books once more, and then back to Sasuke.

"Reading," he replied simply, and returned his attention to his book as his cousin stared dumbfounded.

When he got to school the next day, Masaru walked past his usual seat and straight to the back of the room, plopping into the empty seat next to a startled Naruto. As the teacher stared at them and began stuttering in surprise the young Uchiha just ignored him and pulled a book out of his bag, calmly reading as he waited for class to begin.

 _Live_ , the voice from his dream all those weeks ago repeated, pleading desperately for only his ears to hear.

 _No more sulking. I won't let any more of my precious people die._

* * *

(A/N: So at long last, the grief is over and Sakura appears! Woohoo! I've been wanting to add her to the character list for a while, but I wanted to wait for her to _actually_ appear. The next chapter skips to the start of canon, so look forward to it!)


	11. Chapter 10: Sometimes People Click

Chapter 10

* * *

 _"Sometimes, when you meet someone, you just click. You look at each other, stare in the eyes, and both of you just realize, deep down: 'Holy crap I really hate you, why must we breathe the same air? HURRY UP AND DIE AND STOP POLLUTING THE WORLD WITH YOUR EXISTENCE!' …I never claimed to be sane."_

* * *

"Uchiha Masaru, congratulations. Remember to return for the team assignments."

Masaru nodded and bowed to Iruka-sensei before leaving the room, his fingers tightening around the blue cloth in his hand. The metal plate bearing the stylized leaf felt heavier than he expected, the hitai-ate's weight unfamiliar as he slowly raised it and tied it around his forehead. Strands of hair brushed his forehead as his bangs bunched up under the plate, making him frown and quickly untie it.

Thinking it over, he slipped it around his neck and carefully avoided his hair as he knotted it, nodding in approval. It felt much better there, the extra weight still a little weird but far less unnatural. Satisfied, he continued walking and stepped out of the building, taking a moment to inhale the fresh air.

"Masaru," a familiar voice called, and he turned to see Sasuke leaning against the wall nearby, hands stuffed in his pockets. A dark blue hitai-ate wound around his head, the bangs on either side of his face hanging over the dark blue cloth and neatly framing his face. Studying him silently for a moment, the black-haired Uchiha commented, "Not wearing it on your forehead?"

"Bangs get in the way," Masaru replied with a shrug, tugging the thick strand that dangled between his eyes for emphasis. Sasuke grunted in acknowledgment as he nodded, and the pair began walking away in silence. Excited chatter filled the air around them as their fellow graduates proudly showed off their hitai-ate to their friends and parents, parents cheerfully congratulating their children.

The pair averted their gazes, focusing on the path ahead of them as they left the academy grounds. From his periphery Masaru spied a shock of orange, and he turned his head slightly to see Naruto sitting on the swing away from everyone else, his head lowered to avoid looking at the crowd. Traces of silver peeked from beneath his blond bangs, blue cloth tied around the back of his head.

Since the massacre the two had never truly reconnected. The adults had sabotaged any attempts Naruto made to spend time with him, going as far as to assign seating to keep them on opposite ends of the room and give the blond detention almost daily to discourage Masaru from waiting for him. Ultimately he'd had been forced to distance himself from the blond to minimize the unfair and unnecessary punishments.

But while they didn't talk, Masaru still considered Naruto a precious person and friend, even if he couldn't be sure Naruto still felt the same. Watching him sitting on the swing alone with no one to congratulate him like their classmates, Masaru felt a pang of sympathy for him. His steps faltered, wavering on whether he should approach him.

Before he could make up his mind though Iruka suddenly appeared, approaching Naruto from behind with a big grin and placing a hand on his head. The blond raised his head with a startled look, the metal of his hitai-ate gleaming in the sun as he swiveled his head around. Seeing Iruka standing behind him, his face lit up in a giant grin of his own and he jumped off the swing.

A faint smile touched Masaru's lips as he watched the two talk enthusiastically, his earlier apprehension fading. "Masaru?" Sasuke's voice drew his attention from the scene, and he turned to find his cousin watching him curiously. He offered a casual shrug and resumed following him.

* * *

Thumbing his hitai-ate nervously, Masaru stood in the back corner of the classroom as he watched his fellow graduates filter in one by one, chattering merrily as they speculated about their future teams. Small cliques formed as friends instinctively gathered together, whispering about their potential teachers and their expectations for life as ninja. Funnily enough, he couldn't help but notice most of them expected to save princesses.

A flash of orange caught his eye, and his gaze snapped to the doorway to see Naruto saunter in, beaming brightly and obviously proud of his hitai-ate. As the blonde entered his eye happened to meet Masaru's and his steps halted, surprise flashing across his features. A moment passed as they simply stared at each other, neither of them moving, but then Naruto broke into a giant grin and pointed at his forehead protector.

Masaru offered a faint smile in return as he averted his gaze, but he could still feel Naruto radiating pride at the acknowledgment. It occurred to him that he should probably approach him and strike up a conversation now, seeing as the academy instructors couldn't exactly keep them apart anymore, but... He still had that whole perpetually awkward and useless at social interactions thing going on. Time had failed to improve his social ineptitude.

Now that he was going to be a ninja though, Masaru knew he'd have to get over it pretty soon. Ninja worked in teams, and he'd need to establish good camaraderie with them since they'd be working together for a long time to come. Although, since he and Sasuke were the last two Uchiha, maybe they'd be on the same team? It would kind of make sense, except that _might_ make them a bigger target. And even if they did, they'd still have a third teammate, and a sensei—

Wait.

Did that kid just push—WAIT, DID NARUTO JUST—

Masaru's jaw dropped as he saw a boy accidentally bump into Naruto while turning around, making the blond fall forward towards Sasuke. His cousin happened to turn at just that moment and the brunette winced and covered his eyes as he realized their lips were about to meet. No one else seemed to have the same foresight though, and he heard a loud crash followed by ominous silence.

Hesitating, he slowly parted his fingers to see Sasuke and Naruto sprawled on the floor, their faces shocked. He could already _hear_ the ominous silence emanating from all the girls in the classroom. Time had not diminished Sasuke's fan base, and he could feel wisps of murderous intent starting to radiate from various points in the room.

Sometimes, when he felt particularly dark and humorous, he'd dryly reflect how Akari might react to her classmates now. This was one of those times.

He proceeded to introduce his face to the desk as he listened to an angry horde of fangirls viciously chase Naruto about the room, groaning softly. If only they'd put that energy into actually training. As he tried to block out the sounds of stupidity, he heard the chair next to him pull out and someone sit down. Turning his head slightly, he found a girl with long platinum blond hair and pale turquoise eyes sitting next to him, smiling at him coyly.

"Hello, Masaru-kun," she greeted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Etiquette training kicked in and he sat up, nodding at her in (slightly wary) acknowledgment.

"Hello, Yamanaka-san," he greeted.

"Oh, don't be so formal!" she scolded, huffing slightly. "Just call me Ino."

"Uh, o-okay, Ino-san," he replied, uncomfortable about addressing her without honorifics. Ino sighed dramatically, shaking her head with a large shrug.

"That'll have to do, I guess." Then the coy smile returned, and she leaned forward with her elbows propped on the desk as she twirled a lock of blond hair around her finger. "So, Masaru-kun... Are you looking forward to getting our teams? Maybe we'll be on one together." A predatory gleam flashed in her eyes as she spoke, leaning a little closer to him and _oh kami she's flirting isn't she_.

Cue Masaru's brain instantly shutting down, a strained smile frozen on his face. Flirting and Masaru did not mix. _People_ and Masaru did not mix. _Talking_ and Masaru did not mix. Oh kami what should he do, should he try to return it but he doesn't like her or does he but he doesn't know her so how would he know if he liked her or not but oh _kami_ she's still _staring abort_ _abort ABORT_ —

To his eternal relief, Sasuke suddenly grabbed his arm and jerked him out of his chair and into the aisle. "Come on, we're sitting down here," he told Masaru gruffly, and the brunette flashed him a look of eternal gratitude as his cousin dragged him down the aisle to the table he'd claimed. Behind him he could hear Ino whine in dismay, and he tried to ignore the feeling of her gaze boring into the back of his skull as he slid into an empty chair.

"Thank you," he whispered as Sasuke slid into the neighboring seat, and his cousin just grunted.

"You really need to grow a spine about this stuff," he grumbled, though he didn't sound particularly irritated. He had grown used to Masaru's unusually meek personality, and his experience with fangirls left him with no small amount of empathy for how harrowing it could be to deal with them. Masaru _really_ hoped he wouldn't be placed on a team with Ino.

At this point Naruto slid into the seat on his other side, ducking under the desk to avoid the horde of angry girls reaching for him. Fortunately for him, at this point Iruka entered the room and called the class to attention, and the girls reluctantly returned to their seats. He breathed a large sigh of relief as he settled into the chair, leaning his head back while grumbling under his breath.

The class settled down in record time as Iruka stood at the front of the room, offering a brief speech congratulating them before he began reciting the teams. Heavy anticipation hung over the room as the new genin waited anxiously for their names to be called, each unit raising a small chorus of cheers or groans from the mentioned students. Masaru sat on the edge of his seat, and a glance to the side revealed Sasuke equally on edge, even if he seemed cool and composed like usual.

"Team Seven," Iruka began. "Uzumaki Naruto," Masaru and Naruto both perked up instantly. "Haruno Sakura—"

"Yes!" Naruto cheered while Sakura sank in her seat with a small "no".

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

" _Yes_!" Sakura cheered, while Naruto jumped up with a loud "NO!" Sasuke just grunted, not particularly affected by the assignment. Masaru sank into his seat with a small sigh, ignoring Naruto's annoyed rant and Iruka's subsequent explanation about the team assignment. Looks like he'd be on a team with total strangers then.

"Team Eight," Iruka continued. "Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Aburame Shino. Team Ten, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji." Ino gave a frustrated whine while Masaru felt an overwhelming rush of relief. He quickly pushed it out of his mind though, glancing around the classroom sharply. Almost everyone else's names had been read, which meant the final team would be his.

Two other children sat in visible anticipation, looking at Iruka intently. One, the girl, had dark violet hair cut into an uneven bob so that part of her bangs shot out in a jagged strand that extended to her shoulder. If memory served right, she tended to bully other girls with her friends. The other vaguely resembled a mini-Iruka... and also happened to be the boy who bumped into Naruto earlier.

Masaru's shoulders slumped in dismay. He didn't even know their names, and already he didn't like them.

"Team Eleven. Ayakawa Ami, Yamamoto Tobio, and Uchiha Masaru."

Upon hearing their names the pair looked first at each other and then at Masaru, their eyes wide. He slumped in his chair, only paying minimal attention to Iruka's subsequent instructions about meeting their sensei after a brief lunch break. When he dismissed them, Sasuke quickly got up and gestured for Masaru to follow him, which he did gratefully.

They barely reached the door when they heard someone call out. "Sasuke-kun, wait!" The Uchiha boys stopped and turned to see Sakura jogging towards them, stopping next to them with a nervous and excited smile. "Hey, since we're going to be on the same team, maybe we should have lunch together?" Sasuke barely paused to consider it, his eyes flitting to Masaru before he turned and stalked away.

Sakura visibly deflated, and Masaru offered her a sheepish smile. "S-sorry, he's not a people person," he offered lamely. Neither of them were, but Masaru at least had enough manners to tell her that. That, and seeing a girl (or anyone, really) upset just made him _really_ uncomfortable. His comment seemed to lift her spirits at least, and Sakura offered him a small smile.

"Masaru-kun!" Masaru flinched as a high-pitched voice suddenly called his name, his face growing several shades paler. Flashing Sakura a panicked look, he quickly spun and fled the classroom. Sakura just blinked as Ino darted past her in pursuit while calling his name, her pink hair fluttering in the breeze generated by their speedy departures. Sighing softly, she paused as she felt eyes on her and glanced back to see Naruto eying her with sparkly eyes.

 _Nope._ Sakura quickly absconded, leaving the dejected blond alone.

* * *

When lunch ended and his team's sensei entered, Masaru's impression of his new team did not approve.

"We will start with introductions," Hyuuga Hoheto told the trio of genin as they assembled under a tree in the schoolyard. "State your names, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and the type of ninja you wish to become." The man had dark brown hair pulled into a high topknot, and like most Hyuuga exuded an air of strict, no-nonsense rigidity that accompanied most adults in high-ranking shinobi clans. Masaru's teammates seemed to be in awe of Hoheto's obvious clan status, given their civilian backgrounds.

Masaru just stared at him blankly, wondering why he had a Hyuuga instructor. Not that he had anything against the Hyuuga clan, but their clans' rivalry had apparently been enough to end Akari's friendship with their heiress. Ironic since at this point the Uchiha _definitely_ did _not_ have a main or branch house, seeing as it was down to him and Sasuke.

"We will start with you." Hoheto nodded at Ami, who smirked.

"My name is Ayakawa Ami," she began. "I like cute boys, cats, and gardening. I dislike girls who are weak or overly full of themselves," she rolled her eyes as if thinking of someone specific, "And moles, because they tend to ruin my garden. I want to be known as the most beautiful kunoichi in the Elemental Nations."

"Good," Hoheto said with a nod, and turned to Tobio. "You."

"I'm Yamada Tobio," he introduced, pointing his thumb to himself with a cheeky grin. "I like comic books, adventure novels, and enka music. I don't really like horror stories. My hobby is cooking, I guess. It's fun to combine ingredients. My goal is to work on the field for a few years and then semi-retire as a teacher at the academy!"

Suddenly his faint resemblance to Iruka took on a slightly creepy note. Masaru found his gaze unwillingly drawn to the very similar style of his ponytail, and he repressed the urge to shudder.

"An unusual goal, but it is good to know what you want," Hoheto mused, and then turned to Masaru. "And finally, your turn."

His new teammates turned to face Masaru, their eyes glittering expectantly as they awaited his answer. His hands clenched in his lap, swallowing as he felt himself break into a light sweat. Inhaling through his nose to calm himself, he breathed a soft sigh and began.

"I'm... Uchiha Masaru," he started. "I... like cats," Ami perked up, "history, and... art, I guess. I don't like romance novels, jerks, and... the color red." Hoheto raised an eyebrow at this, the others exchanging a curious glance. "As for hobbies... um, studying, I guess, and reading. And, the kind of ninja I want to be..."

He trailed off, his eyes growing distant. His mind flickered to the cemetery, kneeling in front of Obito's grave with his hands balled into fists on his lap as he spoke in low tones. "I don't want to be any specific type of ninja," he said slowly, picking his words carefully. "I don't have any big goals for my career. But... I do know what kind of ninja I _don't_ want to be."

His vague answer garnered curious looks from his teammates but Masaru didn't elaborate. After a few moments passed Hoheto decided he had nothing else to say and cleared his throat. "Very well. I shall introduce myself now. As I said when I called you in the classroom, I am Hyuuga Hoheto. I am a member of the branch family of the Hyuuga clan. I will tell you my likes and dislikes... _if_ you pass."

"Huh?" The three newly-minted genin turned to look at him in surprise, confusion evident on their faces. "But, we already passed," Tobio piped up, his brow furrowing.

"Yes, you passed the academy exam," Hoheto confirmed calmly. "However, that is more of a preliminary test, to make sure you have the basic abilities required to begin truly training to be a ninja. In reality, only about a third of your class will likely be prepared to become proper shinobi. The teams that fail will be sent back to the academy for further studying. It is up to the jounin instructors to decide which teams are likely to pass."

Three shocked pairs of eyes stared at him as the trio processed his words. Ami's jaw hung open with disbelief, and then her face turned bright red. "ARE YOU KIDDING!" she exploded. "I am NOT going back to the academy for another year while Fuki and Kasumi become genin!"

"I don't want to spend another six months there," Tobio whined. "I want to get some field experience already! And I just got the hitai-ate, I don't want to give it back already!"

"Complain all you want, but the fact remains that it is up to my discretion whether you shall continue as genin," Hoheto replied calmly, unperturbed by their whining. He glanced at Masaru, as if expecting him to complain too, but the Uchiha boy said nothing, his face curiously blank. His gaze flickered to his new teammates, watching Ami stamp her foot in a childish temper tantrum and Tobio just continue to whine and sulk. Then his eyes slid over to Hoheto, radiating an aura of cool, icy composure, his featureless white eyes unreadable as he stared at Masaru.

"When's the test?" the boy finally asked, prompting his two teammates to stop ranting and/or whining to look at their jounin sensei expectantly. Hoheto's lips quirked upwards, something akin to approval seeming to flash in his face.

"We can begin immediately."

* * *

Later that night, Masaru sat in the apartment watching TV eating a bowl of curry when he heard the door open. Sasuke trudged inside, an annoyed look on his face as he grabbed a bowl and filled it before joining Masaru on the couch. Masaru glanced at him from the corner of his eye, noting the even grumpier than usual expression.

After living with each other for five years, he'd grown accustomed to the subtle shifts in Sasuke's facial expressions, able to read them clearly. Right now, his slightly pinched eyebrows suggested heavy irritation. "Bad meeting?" he guessed, and his cousin grunted.

"The dobe is a dobe, Sakura squealed about ANBU, and the teacher's some lazy pervert who showed up three hours late," he ranted irritably, scowling at his dinner. "And to top it off, we still have to take the secret test tomorrow at six AM, and we're not supposed to eat breakfast before going."

"Why not?" Masaru asked, arching an eyebrow.

"He said we'd vomit from working too hard," Sasuke scoffed, making Masaru frown thoughtfully as he swished another mouthful of curry around his mouth with his tongue.

"Huh... If it'd be hard enough to make you vomit, wouldn't it be better to eat so you'd have some energy?" he mused, and Sasuke shrugged with a noncommittal grunt. They ate in silence for a while, allowing the flat jokes of the comedians on the TV to fill the silence. Eventually Sasuke glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"You haven't said anything about your team."

"Hmm?" Masaru swallowed his curry and shrugged. "Oh, right. I don't like them." The nonchalance in his statement earned a quirked eyebrow from Sasuke.

"You got a couple losers too?"

"I wouldn't call them losers," Masaru hedged, frowning thoughtfully. "Ami's a big jerk but she has good aim and observation skills, and Tobio's really clumsy but has a lot of book smarts. I guess I'm kind of meant to balance them out. And our assigned instructor, Hyuuga Hoheto, is a pretty typical Hyuuga, he's super serious." As he rattled off the points Sasuke turned to face him more directly, a curious glint in his eye.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," he commented. "Did you already take the secret exam?"

"Yeah, we did. We failed."

Cue Sasuke's spoon dropping into the bowl, his jaw falling open as he gawked at Masaru in disbelief. Masaru just calmly continued eating, eyes glued to the TV.


	12. Chapter 11: Family of Idiots

(A/N: Before you read, I want to point out Echoes of Light now has a cover! I finally stopped being lazy and got out my tablet to draw a picture of Akari and Masaru as kids. It's not my best work and the eyes are a bit wonky, but it came out pretty well in my opinion. I did it in part because of this: **I will now be updating twice a week.** The buffer is big enough that I'm almost at Chapter 20, and I _really_ want to get to the good stuff. I think I found a unique and original twist on the Land of Waves arc, and I really want to see how you guys will react. Anyways, with all that out of the way, enjoy the new chapter!)

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

 _"My family is full of idiots. That includes me."_

* * *

Another year, another group of genin thrust upon him.

Hatake Kakashi had grown used to the Hokage's attempts to saddle him with a team of genin every year. Every year, he also made a point to fail them. Why? Because none of them could pass the bell test, but also because he really, really, really didn't want a team yet.

This year, though, was different.

For starters, one of them happened to be the son of his own sensei. Uzumaki Naruto, a very loud and abrasive young boy who resembled his father in appearance more than anything else. It was fitting he took on his mother's surname, since personality-wise he took after her almost exclusively. Except he might be _worse_ , which was surprising given Kushina's already infamously brash nature. Additionally, just like her he also happened to be—

Well. No point dwelling on that right now.

Haruno Sakura's introduction had been memorable in its own way, a strange mixture of blushing at Sasuke and suppressed squeals, topped with a resolute declaration to become an ANBU captain. That... startled him. As a former ANBU captain himself, he raised an eyebrow and instinctively slid into an analytical mode, scrutinizing the young kunoichi more closely. Her work ethic seemed strong, and her file suggested some promising skills.

Her squealing and obvious fangirl nature gave him doubts, though.

Then... Uchiha Sasuke. One of two survivors of the Uchiha clan, and the top student in his class. Quiet and broody, he gave a sufficiently ominous declaration of his intent to murder Itachi and avenge his clan. On the bright side, he also included a nice, heart-warming declaration that he would protect Masaru, the other survivor.

Coincidentally, as the only Sharingan user left in Konoha, Kakashi would be expected to train both boys in their clan's doujutsu. Which meant the council would not allow him to fail this team, short of unbearable circumstances proving without a doubt that they could not work together. _Politics._ Phooey.

Frankly, he was just relieved he didn't have _both_ Uchiha boys on his team—or Masaru, period. He still remembered his shock at finding the unconscious boy when his team responded to the massacre. Rushing to the house in search of Akari, only to find her twin sprawled in a bed with blood-soaked blankets swaddled around his torso, his ear half-torn from his skull—

It... was not a pleasant memory. Kakashi had many regrets, and seeing Masaru every day would just remind him of one of his largest.

Which is why when he appeared in a swirl of leaves at the training field the next day, he did not feel overly pleased to see Masaru sitting tied up next to a tree, an irritated look on his face. "YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura bellowed.

"Sorry, a cat ran in front of me and I had to find a different route," Kakashi replied idly, his gaze focused on Masaru. Seeing as he and Sasuke lived together, Kakashi felt it a safe bet that his little genin had something to do with his presence. He glanced to the particularly broody Uchiha (who seemed slightly broodier than usual, though Kakashi had only one other interaction to go off at this point) and asked, "Why is your cousin tied up?"

"He's an idiot," Sasuke replied simply, and Masaru shot him a dry look before slumping back against the tree with a sigh.

"Um, apparently, his jounin-sensei failed his team," Sakura piped up, "So Sasuke-kun brought him here to show him how it's done." Ah, so that's why— _wait, what?_

Kakashi blinked as he processed her words, wondering if he heard right. Masaru's team _failed_? He thought the council wanted both Uchiha boys to graduate and join the active shinobi forces at the same time! Hell, he barely got away with convincing them to not saddle him with BOTH Uchiha brats! How did Hyuuga Hoheto get away with it?! This required further investigation.

Later though. First he needed to do his own test.

"Well, as long as he doesn't interfere in the test, I don't mind," he allowed after a beat. "Anyways, onto business..." With that he pulled a pair of silver bells from his pouch and proceeded to explain the rules of the tradition carried on since the Third Hokage's team.

* * *

 _The test Hyuuga Hoheto designed was simple._

 _Hoheto's original genin teammates had hidden themselves at certain points in Konoha, and the prospective members of Team Eleven must locate them using the physical descriptions Hoheto provided. Upon finding them, they would give each student a slip of paper with a different clue on it, for a total of six individual clues, which they would then use to guess the title of one of his two favorite books._

 _By specifying he had two favorite books instead of one or three, this instilled a natural assumption that only two people would pass—one per book—thus inciting a competitive streak within the group and prompting them to guard their clues closely. However, in reality the slips each used a basic cipher which could only become clear if they gathered all six together. Upon solving it, the_ true _meaning of the code would become clear._

 _As expected a fire immediately lit in Tobio and Ami's eyes, the pair running off with eager shouts. As they departed though, Masaru calmly sat down on the grass and folded his arms. Hoheto folded his arms as he looked at the young Uchiha, a single eyebrow raised. "You are not going to look?" he questioned, and the child shook his head, reclining back to stare at the sky._

 _"No, I won't," he affirmed quietly. "I can't work with this team." Hoheto closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head slowly. He'd had suspicions this may happen, the Uchiha had been known for their rather exclusionary pride, and his teammates came from rather minor families._

 _"Masaru-kun," he began, "I understand you may not think you like them right away, but—"_

 _"It's not that," the boy interrupted softly, and Hoheto opened his eyes to peer at him inquisitively. Lazily sprawling on his back, Masaru continued to gaze at the sky, his face thoughtful as he watched the clouds drift by. About a minute of silence passed before Hoheto determined he wouldn't elaborate any further on his own._

 _"Then why do you refuse to work with this team?" He saw a minute tension enter the boy's body, his muscles stiffening slightly as his eyebrows pinched together and his mouth tugged into a small frown._

 _"I guess," he said quietly after a while, "This particular team brings back too many bad memories."_

 _"Bad memories?" Hoheto echoed, and Masaru hummed, shifting a bit uncomfortably as he closed his eyes._

 _"...Ami is the exact kind of girl my... my sister hated," he muttered, flinching as he said the word "sister". "She's vain, cares more about appearances, has a short temper—if I were to get along with her, she... she would never forgive me. And you..." He hesitated, inhaling through his nose before resuming. "You remind me too much of... everyone else."_

 _Hoheto frowned at this, realization dawning on him. "The adults of your clan," he surmised, and Masaru flinched slightly as he nodded._

 _"Y-yeah... It's—it's nothing personal, but... You seem really serious and stern, and..." He trailed off, but his point was made._

 _"I see," Hoheto murmured, and sighed. "And Tobio-kun?"_

 _"He seems like he might be okay, but..." Masaru shrugged, offering a feeble smile. "Can't really have a team where I'm only okay with one person, right?"_

. . .

"You're saying Uchiha Masaru sabotaged his own team's chances at passing?"

"He did."

Utter. Silence.

Sarutobi Hiruzen resisted the need to heave a put-upon sigh as Homura and Koharu stared at Hoheto in shock, their eyes wide and filled with disbelief. The Hyuuga jounin remained unperturbed as ever, the perfect picture of calm as he awaited their response. Secretly, Hiruzen thanked whatever forces existed that Danzou was not present to offer any input on the mess.

He'd expected some troubles with this year's batch of genin, given the fact they had three boys with severely traumatizing backgrounds and multiple clan heirs, but he never expected _this._ In his entire tenure as Hokage, only one other student had been brazen enough to purposely fail the secret test. The thought brought a wry smirk to his lips.

 _That boy takes after his mother in more ways than one,_ he thought sourly, but withheld the temptation to make the dry remark aloud as he maintained his professional demeanor. "Hoheto-san, can you elaborate on why he may have done such a thing?" he questioned.

"I spoke to him about it afterwards, and apparently the team's members elicited some bad memories of his childhood," Hoheto replied, his voice showing no particular feelings on the situation. "In particular, I reminded him of the adults of his clan, and the kunoichi, Ami, had been someone his sister would have heavily disapproved of."

Homura and Koharu exchanged knowing glances at his remark, and for once Hiruzen could sense that they were all on the same page. They had spent hours nitpicking over the arrangement of the teams for the two Uchiha boys to provide them the ultimate support.

Team Eleven, while shaky, worked on paper. Tobio's friendly nature would help bind them together, and for all her arrogance Ami had a forceful personality that could help Masaru through any slumps he may encounter. They even selected a Hyuuga instructor for Team Eleven to give Masaru at least _some_ aid in handling his doujutsu, since Kakashi couldn't be his full-time instructor.

So Hiruzen felt utterly foolish for forgetting to take the opinions of Masaru's deceased family into account. Of course Hoheto would remind him of the Uchiha adults, the Hyuuga clan had a tendency towards cold composure that would make him very similar to the harsh and apathetic Uchiha. Meanwhile he knew of Akari's opinion on her classmates, and that she would not approve of the arrogant Ami. Twins had a powerful and unique bond, so he should have known Masaru would value her opinions even more with her gone.

"To borrow a quote from the Nara, this is quite troublesome," he remarked dryly, rubbing his forehead in mild exasperation.

"Hoheto-san, if he were to be assigned to a different team that did not raise such issues, do you believe he would still attempt to sabotage it?" Homura asked, recovering from his initial shock. The Hyuuga paused, considering it carefully.

"Based on our conversation, I would assume not. He seemed to have a problem with the specific people more than the concept of a team. However, I cannot say for certain. It would likely be dependent on who's in the team."

"Then hopefully we can work with that," Koharu murmured grimly. "The Sharingan is too valuable for us to waste it. The sooner he can start actually training, the better." Hiruzen nodded in faint agreement, even if he didn't particularly care for her exact phrasing. As the Hokage, he had to do what was best for the village, and in the end shinobi were resources. He couldn't let his feelings get in the way.

That said, he still had some more emotional stakes in seeing Masaru pass. He had been one of the few people to treat Naruto with any degree of kindness, and while they'd been forced to grow apart after the massacre, he had good reason to believe that Masaru still loved him. Naruto needed all the friendship and support he could get, and few things could strengthen their bond more than being part of the same graduating class.

Mind already running through ways to keep him as a genin, he cleared his throat and nodded to Hoheto. "Thank you for your assistance, Hoheto-san. I apologize for the inconvenience we caused you. You are dismissed."

"I am always pleased to have served you, Lord Hokage," the Hyuuga demurred with a bow, and then retreated to leave the three elderly leaders of the village alone. They had a lot of planning ahead of them.

* * *

"So in the end, we passed our test despite almost failing once, and you _still_ failed."

"Hn." Masaru made a noncommittal noise as he continued eating his yakisoba, pointedly ignoring the dark look Sasuke sent his way.

"Why are you so calm?" Sasuke grumbled, looking at him irritably. "Don't you care at all?" Masaru just hummed and shrugged, too busy chewing to answer. He couldn't help but wonder how Sasuke would react if he ever found out Masaru failed the test on purpose, but unless he asked Masaru had no issues keeping it to himself.

Several hours had passed since Team Seven had passed Kakashi's secret exam and become genin. Initially they failed the bell test, prompting Kakashi to reveal its true purpose had been to test their ability to work together. However, he ultimately passed them when they fed Naruto against orders and defended it by citing a team must stay strong, leading to a dramatic monologue about valuing comrades' lives over orders.

Of course, Masaru got to see most of it, since Sasuke refused to untie him until lunch time. Highlights included Sakura getting caught in a genjutsu and threatening Kakashi for supposedly injuring someone to an intense degree, Sasuke getting dragged underground so only his head stuck out, and Naruto suffering the One Thousands Year of Death. That last one got Kakashi a cold threat from Masaru to never touch Naruto again or he'd tell the Hokage he attempted to assault both of them.

As Masaru reflected over the events of the day Sasuke's gaze discreetly slid upwards, eyes flitting focusing on his cousin's wrists. Angry red marks marred his skin, chafed and scratched from the ropes. Sasuke felt a pang of guilt as he looked back to his food, his eyebrows pinching together. Aggravated as he'd been to hear Masaru had failed his own test, he really didn't need to tie him up like that.

The raven-haired boy knew he'd embraced his inner rage more heavily than Masaru, his desire for vengeance often clouding all other thoughts. Yet as broken and angry as Sasuke was, he had realized long ago that his cousin was even _more_ broken on the inside. Grief and hollow longing tended to paint Masaru's features more often than not, his body language subtly betraying how closely he lingered on the verge of shattering at any given time.

Ostensibly, they went through the same tragedy, but they each had a different, personal stake that made it impossible for either to fully empathize with the other. For Sasuke, he had to live with the fact that his brother had been the one to kill everyone. Masaru, meanwhile, lost Akari, his _twin_. Few bonds were more sacred than that, and Sasuke realized early on he'd likely never be able to fully appreciate the magnitude of the loss her death caused him.

While he tended to act cold and dismissive, he worried for his cousin. Masaru was the only family he had left ( _that man_ did not count), and if he died too—well. Sasuke didn't want to think about that.

 _(Sometimes, he dreams of finding Masaru in a pool of blood, his hair sticky and matted to his face with blood and his skin too too pale as red seeps from a gaping hole in his stomach. He tries to stop the bleeding, tries to block it, but more and more pours out of the wound until he's standing waist-deep in a sea of blood clutching his cousin's cold body and crying._

 _He always wakes up screaming, unable to stop shaking for the rest of the night, and he wonders how Masaru can ignore it through the thin wall separating their bedrooms.)_

 _(Sometimes, he wakes up to the sounds of Masaru crying instead, muffled sobs drifting through the thin walls and echoing in his ears with the intensity and clarity of a loud rock concert. He wonders if Masaru can move, because he can't.)_

"Hey," he said quietly, pushing the dark thoughts away. Masaru raised his head to look at him inquisitively, his cheeks still puffed with the mouthful of yakisoba he had yet to swallow. Sasuke felt a flicker of amusement at how silly he looked swirled the noodles on his plate in circles with his chopsticks, his eyes rising to meet his cousin's gaze. "After dinner, let's practice the fireball."

Masaru hummed thoughtfully, the bulges in his cheeks swishing around as he chewed the noodles before sharply deflating as he swallowed. "...Alright." Sasuke nodded and offered a small, weak smile. Surprise flickered in his cousin's dark orbs, his eyes widening slightly as his shoulders hunched with slight tension. Then his posture relaxed and he offered a small smile of his own, and after a moment the two returned their gazes to their food.

A knock on the window drew him from his thoughts, and both boys blinked in unison as they registered the ' _on the window_ ' part. Matching pairs of black eyes instantly snapped towards the living room window. Shinobi instinct took over as Sasuke ditched the chopsticks in favor of a kunai he always kept nearby, while Masaru held his chopsticks between his fingers like senbon, ready to throw at a moment's notice.

Their tense postures swiftly faded though, their faces morphing into similar looks of surprise as they recognized the silver-haired man crouched on the windowsill. Waving at them cheerfully, his one visible eye creased as he smiled under his mask before pointing to the window lock. The two boys exchanged brief glances, and Sasuke noted a heavy tension in Masaru's shoulders, his back straighter and his left eye narrowed slightly.

 _Anger. Irritation. Annoyance._

Sasuke almost raised a brow at the hostile intent Masaru's body language portrayed, his gaze flickering back to the window. Kakashi looked at them expectantly, and after a moment Sasuke pushed back his chair and got up. Strolling over to the window, he nonchalantly grabbed the cord dangling at the side and tugged it, causing the wooden blinds to swiftly tumble down with a loud clatter and obscure the jounin from sight.

When he turned back to the table he was satisfied to note the heavy amusement in Masaru's expression, the brunette's mouth quirked in an obvious smile as he suppressed the urge to giggle. Sasuke flashed a smug smirk of his own as he rejoined his cousin, setting the kunai on the table and picking up the chopsticks so he could resume eating.

"It's quite rude to ignore your sensei you know." Chopsticks instantly flew as the boys whirled in their seats to see Kakashi standing next to them, hands stuffed in his pockets. Noodles splattered to the floor as Masaru's chopsticks soared past the jounin's head, while Kakashi leaned slightly to the left to avoid Sasuke's. "Attacking your sensei can also be seen as rather impolite."

"You broke into our apartment!" Sasuke snapped, the chair toppling over as he sharply rose.

"Well I tried knocking, but you wouldn't let me in," the silver-haired jounin replied genially, eye crinkling in what was undoubtedly a mocking smile. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he glared at the man, while Masaru stared at them dumbly before looking at the noodles splattered on the floor. He banged his head on the table with a loud groan. If the others listened closely, they could hear soft mumbles of "messy" and "wasteful".

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked dryly, crossing his arms and glaring at the intruder. "Team Seven doesn't have training until tomorrow."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not here about training," Kakashi assured him with a small wave. "I'm actually here to see Masaru-kun." Both Uchiha boys stiffened, the brunette slowly raising his head to glower at him. His expression held no subtleties this time, his hostile feelings towards the man perfectly clear.

"What do you _want_ ," Sasuke repeated lowly, stepping between them defensively. Kakashi raised his hands in a show of peace and good will. Still glaring at him, Masaru slowly pushed back his seat and got up.

"What is it?" he questioned warily, and Kakashi's eye crinkled in another smile.

"Uchiha Masaru, you are now an official genin of Konoha. Congratulations. You are to report to the Hokage's office at eight."

The hostility vanished in an instant, both boys staring at him in open shock. "Huh?" Masaru sputtered, staring at him wide-eyed. "I... How? Why? _What_?"

"Well, the Hokage will give you more details on that tomorrow," Kakashi demurred, stuffing his hands in his pockets once more. "He was still working out the exact details when I left, but he should have it all sorted out by the morning."

"But... I—I failed. The secret test."

"Yes, but given the circumstances the Hokage going to make an exception for you. It's pretty unorthodox to pass a single genin without a team, but it's been done before. I'm sure he'll figure out something. See you tomorrow Sasuke." He disappeared in a flurry of leaves before they could respond, and the Uchiha boys just continued to stare at the space he occupied as they tried to process this.

Sasuke recovered first and turned to look at Masaru, a single eyebrow sliding up in a silent inquiry. Meeting his gaze, Masaru just shrugged his shoulders and spread his arms around him in a blunt declaration that the world made no sense anymore.

Eyebrow raising higher, Sasuke's lips twitched into a smirk and his eyes glimmered with faint amusement.

They were broken. Even after all this time they still couldn't find many things to speak about, many shared interests to bond over, and they still had trouble understanding what went through the other's mind.

But they were family, and Sasuke would be damned if he lost anyone else.


	13. Chapter 12: No More Homework

Chapter 12

* * *

 _"As a kid, you spend every day waiting for graduation so you can be free. Then when you graduate, you realize you're not actually free because you still have to work for a living. At least you don't have two to four hours of homework every night though."_

* * *

Reporting to the Hokage proved slightly more nerve-wracking than Masaru expected. A chuunin serving as his assistant waved him into the office with barely a glance in his direction, and when he entered he found the Third Hokage hunched over a pile of paperwork. He set it aside when he saw Masaru though, offering the boy a warm smile as Masaru stood to attention.

"Hello, Masaru-kun," he greeted. "I'm glad to see you. I'm sure you're quite anxious to discuss your future."

"A little," he allowed, nodding slowly. "Um... Aren't genin supposed to be in teams?"

"Normally, yes. Konoha values teamwork immensely, as you're undoubtedly aware, so we try to place heavy emphasis on it for new genin, hence why we only pass teams. However, in your case we are admittedly averse to sending you back to the academy." His brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Why?" he asked after a moment. ' _Is it because I'm an Uchiha?_ ' bitterly echoed in his mind, but he would never ask out loud. While Sasuke had grown rather compliant with the constant praise and attention lavished upon the name, Masaru had quickly tired of it. It irked him that people seemed to value him based on the fan on his back rather than his own individual skills. If he got promoted due to his heritage alone—well, that might be the last straw.

"Because frankly, I do not believe it would be wise to completely separate you from the other graduates in your age group." Masaru blinked. That was unexpected. "The current batch of rookies show a lot more potential than most new graduates, and I doubt we'll encounter another group with raw talent quite like this any time soon. It would be more beneficial for you to continue to work and grow with this group.

"Besides," he added with a small smirk, "I think sending you back wouldn't help you much at this point, since you have already shown yourself to have skills that are quite close to a fresh genin."

"I have?" Masaru questioned blankly. Rather than respond, the Third reached for a folder sitting atop the mounds of paperwork topping his desk and slid it over to the boy, an amused twinkle in his eye. Something about the elderly man's face made Masaru's stomach twist, and he hesitated before taking the folder. He visibly tensed when he opened it to see a police report inside, a photo clipped to the top page showing a bed with shredded sheets and stained in ink.

Swallowing, he slowly raised his head to meet the Third Hokage's gaze, his face dull and impassive. "Mizuki-sensei deserved it," he declared flatly, his bland expression portraying no remorse. The Third arched an eyebrow.

"I take that as a confession."

"I stand by what I said." The Third Hokage smiled slightly at that, allowing a small chuckle to slip through as he took the folder back.

Over the past few years, several teachers at the academy had found themselves the victims of a mysterious vandal who had earned the moniker of the "Black Ink Vandal." The culprit would wait a few weeks between each incident, and somehow managed to avoid being seen by neighbors. While annoying, the crimes had never been serious enough to merit a full-blown investigation, and the juvenile nature suggested the culprit to be a student anyway.

In fact, Masaru probably would have gotten away with it if not for his decision to target Mizuki three months ago. Officers inspecting his apartment found a hidden drawer in his dresser with documents connecting him to Orochimaru, and that had led to the uncovering of a scheme to steal the Scroll of Seals and flee Konoha. Worse, he had been setting up Naruto to fail the exam to use as a scapegoat. It had been a nasty wakeup call for the village, and led to several more in-depth investigations around both the academy and the vandal to see if the vandal knew about it.

On the bright side though, it gave the Third Hokage the idea to have someone try to teach Naruto the shadow clone jutsu. He knew the youth had been struggling with regular clones due to his large chakra stores, but that same issue made him a natural at creating shadow clones. Because of that, Naruto had finally been able to pass the exam and become a ninja.

 _This boy has helped Naruto even more than he realized,_ Hiruzen thought wryly as he glanced at the stone-faced Uchiha boy. He'd never seen Naruto smile as brightly as he had when telling him about his new friendship, eagerly reporting every development in their budding relationship at each meeting. It had saddened the elderly Hokage when they seemed to grow apart after the massacre, but the revelation of his identity as the vandal disproved that.

After all, Masaru specifically targeted the teachers who treated Naruto unfairly, starting with the very first man to separate them on that first day back in the academy. In hindsight, the trend was obvious. Their bond posed yet another reason to keep Masaru with this year's graduates, among more... _practical_ reasons. Hiruzen could reflect on that later, though.

"Well, in the case of vandalism the usual punishment is community service," he commented aloud. "Those jobs happen to be pulled from the same pool as D-rank missions, with the main difference being the lack of pay, so we may as well promote you to genin now so you can start padding out your records." Masaru slowly nodded, his posture relaxing minutely as he accepted this.

"But... don't I need a team?" he questioned.

"Usually, yes, but this would certainly not be the first time we passed a single genin. In times of war we occasionally assigned early graduates to apprentice under jounin, and today we still occasionally place individual graduates into immediate apprenticeships if they show a talent in a highly specialized field, such as medical ninjutsu." Masaru frowned slightly as he listened, his face contemplative.

Ninja tended to specialize in certain fields or talents, whether it be a basic fighting element such as ninjutsu or taijutsu, or a more career-oriented skill such as interrogation or infiltration. Academy teachers began encouraging students to consider their future specializations from a young age, so Masaru had spent plenty of time thinking about his own. None of the fields that interested him would merit a one-on-one apprenticeship though.

As if sensing his thoughts, the Hokage breezily continued, "However, that won't necessarily be the case here. One of my top jounin recently got injured and won't be allowed on active duty for a while, so he's agreed to train you for the next few months until we can make arrangements for a proper team. Until then, to help acclimate you to teamwork you'll assist other genin teams in running D-rank missions. Do you have any questions?"

Taking his time to absorb the small flood of information, Masaru slowly shook his head, and the Hokage smiled. "Good. In that case—Kobayashi, come in." As he spoke a man suddenly appeared at his side in a blur of motion, making Masaru jump in surprise.

The new arrival seemed rather innocuous at first glance, with short brown hair and almond-shaped black eyes and dressed in the standard jounin uniform. Bandages wound around his forehead beneath his hitai-ate and his left arm dangled in a sling held to his chest, his sleeve cut short to accommodate the bandages. "Hello," he greeted, offering Masaru a smile. "My name is Kobayashi Gaku. I'll be in charge of instructing you, Masaru-kun."

Swallowing, Masaru slowly nodded, his eyes flickering to the Hokage nervously. "Seeing as everything's settled, I'll leave you two to it," he told them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I unfortunately have to get back to work." He gestured to the piles of paperwork with a rather rueful smirk, and Masaru's new teacher nodded.

"Of course. We'll take our leave now." Turning to leave, he gestured for Masaru to follow, and the boy shot the Hokage a final hesitant glance before doing so.

"As I said earlier, my name is Kobayashi Gaku," Gaku began. "I enjoy studying architecture, and dislike oily foods. I currently live alone, and my main aspiration is to serve Konoha to the best of my ability."

Masaru nodded at the short and simple introduction, a bit relieved he didn't go into a great deal of detail. Gaku already seemed to be the kind of person who didn't waste words, which suited him fine. His teacher nodded at him, and Masaru felt a brief surge of gratitude to have been on Team Eleven if only because that made it easier to know what to say the second time around.

"I'm Uchiha Masaru. I like cats, studying history, and... looking at art. I don't like mushy romance stories, and... the color red. As for hobbies, I like..." _Watching Naruto and terrorizing his tormenters, visiting Obito's grave._ "...Reading and bird watching."

"Good to know," Gaku said. "You forgot one part though: what kind of ninja do you want to be?" The boy averted his gaze, chewing his lower lip.

"I'm not entirely sure yet," he replied hesitantly. "But... I know what I don't want..."

"And what would that be?" Gaku pressed, and Masaru sucked in a sharp breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Earlier with his original team he had avoided answering the question, and he was tempted to evade it now, but... This time was different. He'd be spending a lot of one-on-one time with Gaku-sensei, and even if he avoided it now he knew the topic would inevitably come up again.

 _"I don't want to put anyone else through this," he whispered to Obito, kneeling in front of the headstone with his hands fisted in his lap. His body and voice trembled, his unruly brown bangs falling into his gaze as his head bowed. Every person had someone who cared for them. Every time someone died, another would suffer, whether it be a close sibling or a virtual stranger who admired them from afar. "I... I don't want to ever cause this kind of pain."_

Inhaling through his nose, he opened his eyes and turned to face his new teacher, his dark gaze burning with steely resolve. "I don't want to be an assassin. I don't want to be a front-line soldier expected to kill at a moment's notice. I don't want to be put in a position where I have to kill someone unless it's to protect to my life."

Gaku raised an eyebrow at his declaration. "You may have chosen the wrong career path then. As a shinobi you'll have to kill people, it's part of the job description."

Even as he spoke Masaru shook his head though, his face still set in stony determination. "I know that, and I'm not saying I won't ever kill anyone," he countered calmly. "I'll do it to protect myself and my comrades, and if I'm ordered to kill a target by the Hokage, I will. I'm not stupid, I know I'll have to kill people _someday_ if I become a ninja. But I don't want to be in a role where I'll constantly have to choose whether or not to end someone's life."

He wouldn't cause that sort of suffering for anyone else if he could avoid it.

Gaku regarded him silently, his gaze contemplative and scrutinizing. Eventually though he nodded, seeming to accept the answer much to Masaru's relief. "Alright. You sound like you've put a bit of thought into this, so I can accept that. There are plenty of positions where you won't be expected to kill on _every_ mission, like infiltration and sabotage. We'll worry about that later though. For now, our main priority is training so you can at least match with other genin."

Masaru nodded and straightened with a firm, "Yes, sir!" And with that, his first day of training as a genin began.

* * *

The regiment Gaku developed was surprisingly simple, and they quickly settled into a steady routine. With only one arm cleared for usage Gaku couldn't participate as directly as they might like and mainly just supervised, instructing Masaru on how to do something and providing advice and corrections as needed. That proved to be enough for their needs though, at least for the time being.

Each session started with Masaru demonstrating basic taijutsu strikes using wooden dummies as targets, while Gaku would correct his form and technique or give advice to improve it. After that they would spar with Gaku acting as a moving target and moving purely on the defensive. Befitting his jounin status Gaku had no trouble dodging and deflecting Masaru's blows with only one arm, but frankly he had no illusions of successfully hitting a jounin so he didn't feel particularly bitter about it.

He loved every second of it. Fluidly alternating between kicks and punches, leaping into the air with a spinning kick and flipping over Gaku's head. Landing and sliding across the ground while dipping into a low sweeping kick, using handstands to give his kicks extra leverage. Sparring had always been his favorite activity at the Academy, and even if he could only practice his offensive skills right now he loved it.

Mostly, though, they spent their sessions improving his aim with projectile weapons and increasing his chakra reserves.

"The Sharingan will allow you to copy numerous ninjutsu," Gaku explained as the young Uchiha sat cross-legged on the ground, several leaves sticking to his arms and face, "but that won't be very helpful if you can only use a few before passing out from chakra exhaustion. This exercise, while basic, helps build your reserves and also improve your control." Masaru merely nodded, his attention focused on keeping the leaves from falling off.

Their first week passed fairly quickly like that, the training rather basic but still leading to small, steady improvements. On the sixth day Gaku dismissed him and told him to take the next day as a break, with promises of his first joint D-rank at their next meeting. He returned home feeling a bit tired but satisfied, happy to enjoy a day off.

Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed a bit less pleased with his own day.

"Um." Masaru just stared blankly at Sasuke, unsure what to say. Mud covered him so thickly he almost couldn't see his cousin's clothes and limbs, his face the only area clear of dirt which gave Masaru a clear view of his irritation. Grunting in annoyance, Sasuke trudged into the apartment straight for the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Masaru just stood lamely in the kitchen as he listened to the water run, highly confused by his cousin's state.

Half an hour later the water turned off, and he heard a muffled noise of frustration. "Masaru, can you get some clothes from my room?" Sasuke called, and the brunette quickly obliged, stepping into Sasuke's bedroom to grab a clean shirt and boxers. Knocking on the bathroom door, it opened and his cousin quickly snatched the clothes before shoving out his old, dirty ones.

By the time Masaru dumped it in the laundry hamper Sasuke had emerged and stood in the living room, toweling off his damp hair. "What happened?" Masaru asked curiously, and Sasuke scowled in irritation.

"We had a D-rank to catch some dumb cat," he grumbled, his eyebrow twitching at the memory. "At one point we sighted it on the opposite side of a pond so we decided to cross it to save time. It turned out to be deeper than it looked." Masaru blinked, _really_ not expecting that. A long moment of silence followed before Masaru turned and started walking for the door, making Sasuke frown. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to visit Uncle Obito and ask for him to watch over me on my first D-rank," Masaru replied, shooting Sasuke an impressively deadpan look over his shoulder as he opened the door. Then he yelped as he felt a fist collide with his chest, jerking back in shock and snapping his head forward. A surprised Naruto stood in the doorway, his fist hovering in the air.

"Huh? Masaru?" He blinked dumbly, and then his eyes slowly slid over to his still-hovering fist. Cue instant panic, his eyes growing wide as he jumped back with a startled shout. "Agh! _Masaru!_ Sorry, I was trying to knock on the door! Honest! I didn't mean to hit you!"

Of course his panic made Masaru start to freak out as well, his own face screwing in alarm as he waved his hands in a reassuring gesture. "I-it's okay! I was just trying to open the door and it didn't hurt so it's okay!" As the two boys faced each other with obvious growing panic, Sasuke appeared behind his cousin to shoot Naruto an unimpressed look.

"Dobe, what are you doing here?" he demanded, and the sudden question made them stop and turn to look at him in surprise, their momentary panic gone.

"Oh, right!" Naruto quickly fished through his pocket and produced a flat, pouch-like object, shaped like a shogi tile and covered with blue silk. "After you went home I found this and Kakashi-sensei said it was yours." Sasuke's eyes widened and he quickly snatched it from him, but not before Masaru spied a silver patch embroidered onto one side with the kanji for "protection" in elegant script.

"An omamori?" he murmured, his brow furrowing. Usually people bought the amulets at shrines for good luck or protection, but as far as he knew the only shrine Sasuke ever visited was the Naka Shrine.

"Something like that," his cousin muttered, thumbing the amulet with a strangely soft look on his face. "It's... an old gift." He left it at that, carrying it to his bedroom and slamming the door.

"Gee, you're welcome," Naruto grumbled sarcastically, grinding his teeth in irritation, but paused when he noticed Masaru looking at him. For a moment they just stood in awkward silence, until eventually Naruto stepped back and rubbed the back of his neck. "W-well, uh, anyways, that's all I came here for, so I guess I'll just be... going now, eheh."

Flashing a sheepish grin, the blond turned and quickly started down the hallway. Masaru's shoulders sagged slightly, wondering if maybe he should go after him. As he tried to gather his nerves though, he heard the door to Sasuke's room open and his cousin suddenly appeared next to him, dragging the surprised brunette into the hall. "Oi, dobe, wait up," he called, making Naruto freeze and turn to look at them in surprise.

"Huh? What's up?"

"You haven't eaten dinner yet, have you?" Sasuke questioned, making both Naruto and Masaru blink.

"Uh, no, not yet," he said with a wary look, understandably suspicious of the sudden apparent concern for his diet. "I was gonna head to Ichiraku's after this—"

"Change of plans, you're getting something from that teriyaki place instead," Sasuke interrupted. Masaru gaped at him in utter bewilderment, while Naruto's jaw dropped before he abruptly clamped it shut and scowled.

"Oi, teme! What's this about? You can't tell me where to eat!"

"I can when I'm the one paying." The blunt declaration made Naruto nearly fall over, and now Masaru's jaw hung open. Sasuke? Being generous to someone other than him?

"Uh... Sasuke? Are you... Um..." Trailing off, he looked at Sasuke helplessly, too confused to find any words. Fortunately, Naruto had no such issues, crossing his arms and squinting at him suspiciously.

"What are you up to, teme?"

"Don't read too much into it," the black-haired Uchiha replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I already planned to get takeout anyway, so might as well get you some too."

Approximately three point five seconds passed as Masaru stared at him before his brain finally processed the statement. Oh. Of course. Turning to Naruto, he blandly translated, "He wants to thank you but thinks he's too cool to actually say it out loud, so he's buying you dinner instead."

Sasuke shot him an irritated look while Naruto snickered. "Phew, what a relief!" he declared with an exaggerated sigh. "For a second I thought the world might be ending!"

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, smacking them both on the head before stalking down the hall. The pair exchanged glances and then broke into snickers as they trailed after him, their faces lit up with large grins.


	14. Chapter 13: Alternate Theme Song

_A/N: Before I get into this, I just want to say thank you for all the positive feedback so far! I am officially ten chapters ahead in the draft, so woohoo! Today's chapter is almost four thousand words. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

 _"Sunshine and lollipops and rainbows - Everything I feel when we're together and... something. I don't actually remember the lyrics. But I think that song could be used as an alternate theme song for a certain young man."_

* * *

Another day, another D-rank mission.

Close to a month had now passed since Masaru's promotion to genin, and in that time he'd taken two to three missions a week. A few he had run on his own with Gaku's help, like picking up litter in a small park or watering plants for a couple who left town for an evening. Generally, he worked with another team of genin though.

He had yet to work with a team from his graduating class. According to Gaku they needed time to adjust to working together before throwing in an extra person, so instead he worked with older genin. Sometimes he worked with genin from a year above, but more often than not he worked with more ragtag groups of genin whose teams had dissolved for various reasons. That tended to be a bit more awkward since they tended to be anywhere from two to five years older, but he could handle it.

Today, however, Masaru might have reached his limit.

"Yosh! Are you ready to experience the glory of your first ever mission, oh youthful Masaru-kun?"

Sunbeams radiated behind the green-clad man—like, legitimate beams of bright canary yellow light, spinning around a backdrop of bright blue which may or may not be a genjutsu. Dazzling white teeth sparkled and glowed like a glitter-covered flashlight as he flashed the young boy a giant grin, his hand extended in a thumbs up with a noticeable red swirl visible on the pad of his thumb like a cartoony fingerprint.

Some men, when faced with such a sight, would see no shame in fleeing. Even the most battle-hardened shinobi would start subconsciously mapping possible escape routes when faced with the bizarre beast. But not Uchiha Masaru.

Mainly because he was too terrified to move.

Paralyzed and rooted to the ground by mild horror, his gaze flitted past the man to a trio of genin behind him. The girl had her face firmly planted in her hands and mumbled something indecipherable under her breath, a Hyuuga boy glowered at the jounin with obvious disdain, and the final boy _oh dear kami he looks like a mini-clone of the jounin oh Sage he's smiling abortabortABORT—_

Shuddering in horror, Masaru aimed a betrayed look at Gaku-sensei, wondering just what he'd done to deserve this. Hadn't they been getting along well? He hadn't disrespected him on accident, had he?

' _Why?_ ' he mouthed as the spandex-wearing adult dragged him towards the large field in need of weeding. Gaku-sensei just responded with a small wave, looking faintly amused by his student's predicament.

On that day, Masaru learned many things.

One, green spandex terrified him, and for the next few days he'd be jumping at any hint of the specific shade of green worn by Rock Lee and Maito Gai. Two, the Hyuuga clan could be just as broody as Sasuke—maybe even more, Neji made Sasuke look downright pleasant and sunny. His featureless white eyes made his permanent frown seem even more unsettling, and he seemed to radiate an open air of disdain that Masaru's cousin never showed.

Three, Tenten might be the only normal person on Team Gai and she deserved great respect for maintaining her sanity in the face of her teacher and teammates. If not for her, Masaru might not have been able to survive the first mission with his own sanity intact. As it stood, he escaped with _minimal_ mental scarring.

"How?" he whispered, his face pale as he watched two bright green blurs race around the field leaving a cloud of dust and uprooted weeds in their wake. Barely an hour had passed, and yet with eager cries of great exuberance and _youth_ , Rock Lee and Gai had already managed to clear half the giant field on their own.

Glancing at his own meager pile of weeds which barely filled one basket, Masaru felt sorely inadequate in comparison.

Tenten shot him a sympathetic look as his shoulders sagged, smiling at him as she yanked another weed from the ground and tossed it into a basket. "Don't worry about it too much," she told him. "They tend to go all out with everything. There's nothing wrong with your effort, you're doing fine."

Masaru glanced at her as she spoke, and his eyes slowly slid to the two baskets next to her. His shoulders sagged further, and Tenten smiled sheepishly. "Uh, don't get too down about this, you'll get faster at this with more time. If you're lucky you won't even _reach_ this point though. These kinds of missions are pretty boring. We're only this fast because we've done it so often."

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled, averting his gaze to return to plucking weeds. He pointedly avoided looking in Neji's direction, not wanting to see the assuredly numerous baskets he would have amassed by this point. If he didn't know any better, he would almost say he could feel the Hyuuga eying him from the opposite side of the field with a mixture of smug satisfaction and severe distaste.

Yeah, compared to him Sasuke could win the title "friendliest genin in Konoha" by a landslide. For all his arrogance and antisocial nature, he at least didn't go out of his way to glower at people constantly. Meanwhile, Masaru had some doubts about whether Neji even knew _how_ to smile.

A youthful cry drew his attention back to Lee and Gai, who now had ten baskets of weeds each and faced each other with tears streaming down their faces. "Lee, you have come so far!" Gai proclaimed, flashing his mini-clone a watery grin and a thumbs-up. "It feels like just yesterday you were a fresh-eyed genin with eyes full of determination and so much difficulty keeping up with your teammates, and now you can keep pace with me! I am so proud of you, Lee!"

Lee sniffled loudly, rubbing his tear-streaked face with his sleeve. "Th-thank you, Gai-sensei! I could not have done it without you!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

As the two embraced and merged into one giant green blob, Masaru realized that red might not be the _worst_ color in the world.

When they finished weeding the field and Gaku suggested they spar, he almost cheered in relief when he learned Tenten would be his partner. "Lee and Neji specialize in close-range taijutsu, so they'd have too much of an advantage," Gaku reasoned aloud, earning a vigorous nod from Gai. "Meanwhile Tenten's a weapons specialist and specializes in long range, so this way she can get some work on her close combat, too."

"You make a most excellent and youthful point!" Gai praised enthusiastically, bobbing his head in eager approval. "And you even think of how to help my team as well! Truly, Gaku-san, you are a most youthful and caring member of Konoha and we are better for having you!"

"Er, thanks," Gaku murmured, clearly a bit off-put by Gai's overwhelming energy. Coughing into his fist, he turned to the genin and said, "Anyways, are you two ready to start now? Or do you want to rest for a few minutes first?" Masaru and Tenten quickly glanced at each other, their gazes appraising.

"I'm ready if you are," Tenten offered, flashing a cocky grin, and Masaru nodded.

"Yeah, me too," he agreed, offering a small smirk of his own. The sudden confidence in his expression seemed to surprise Tenten, but she quickly smiled and nodded. As the two took their positions he felt a sense of calm wash over him, his body relaxing in anticipation of the match. Gaku called the match to start, and Tenten immediately launched forward.

Ducking under her opening punch, he swung out his leg in an attempt to knock her feet from under her. Tenten jumped back before he could make contact, making him stomp his foot into the dirt to avoid falling and slide along until he stood. Barely a second later he had to dodge the side as she swung a leg towards him in a roundhouse kick, barely avoiding her foot.

As her foot rocketed past his skull he grabbed her ankle with both hands and thrust it downwards, sending her crashing with a yell. The kunoichi grunted in pain but quickly recovered and rolled away just before Masaru could land a punch where her chest had been moments before. His knuckles barely brushed against her arm, and then suddenly her hand shot and snagged his ankle, giving it a hard yank. Rather than try to pull away he threw his weight towards her, using the sudden momentum to twist free from her grip.

Tenten once again rolled to safety just before he could crash into her from above, stopping in a crouch several feet away. Jumping to her feet, she spit out dirt and wiped her mouth, her lips curving into a smirk. "Not bad," she commented, her hands raising in front of her chest and solar plexus. Masaru returned her smirk, assuming an identical position. "You're pretty smart for a newbie."

"You're good too," he replied. "Not many kids in the academy think to pull people down with them." Tenten hummed in agreement, and the pair launched forward again.

The match lasted another few minutes, the pair fluidly exchanging and blocking blows. Masaru had never felt so challenged in his life, and he loved it. In the academy his opponents tended to go by the book, making it easy to read their intent. Tenten showed more creativity than they ever did, at times willing to abandon the structured forms of the academy style taijutsu in favor of letting the fight essentially devolve into a brawl.

When she finally managed to knock him to the ground and pin him, Masaru had a giant grin on his face. The thrill of the fight left him so exhilarated he didn't even care that he lost. "Good job," she complimented, helping him up. Masaru smiled and nodded as they offered each other the seals of reconciliation. A loud sniffle made them pause, and they turned to see Gai and Lee wiping their faces with their sleeves as tears streamed down their faces.

"Well done, you two!" the jounin praised, flashing a watery grin. "That was one of the most excellent and moving demonstrations I have ever seen! Truly, the springtime of youth shines strongly in you!"

"I have never seen such enthusiasm before!" Lee agreed loudly next to him, ridiculously snotty. "And you both still showed such good sportsmanship afterwards! Watching you fight was so inspiring!"

"Um... thanks?" Masaru mumbled, discreetly edging away from the crying pair. He noticed Gaku had distanced himself from them too, now standing on the opposite side of a sour-looking Neji. The Hyuuga watched the pair with apathetic eyes, looking more annoyed than anything.

"I do not see the point in making such a fuss," he declared flatly. "It is only natural Masaru would do well."

"H-huh?" Masaru turned to stare at the prodigy in shock. Did Neji just... praise him? What? Masaru's brain temporarily shut down, trying to process the compliment in light of his earlier observations of the silent and arrogant Hyuuga. "But... I lost?"

"Only because Tenten has more experience," Neji replied plainly. "Tenten is from a civilian family and has no predetermined advantages. You, meanwhile, are from the Uchiha clan. As disgusting as your timid personality is, your heritage alone guarantees you to reach Chuunin, as even the most inept Uchiha shinobi did so. Not only that, but the fact that you survived over everyone else means that you have a greater destiny in store."

Silence fell after his last words, the others staring at him in shock. "Neji!" Tenten hissed, shooting her teammate a venomous glare. "Don't...!" She trailed off, not even knowing how to begin to address that. Lee, apparently oblivious to the meaning of his words, just looked between Neji and Masaru in confusion.

"But... Did Neji not just praise him?" he questioned, his thick brows knitting together. "Neji rarely praises anyone! Clearly that's good, isn't it?" Tenten sagged and shot him a tired look, unsure how to address _that_ either.

"Is... it not one?" Masaru asked hesitantly, making Tenten startle and whirl to face him in shock. Before she could begin to _conceive_ a response Gaku cleared his throat, placing a hand on Masaru's shoulder.

"Well, I think that's enough training for today," he declared, smiling somewhat sheepishly. "Gai, thank you for allowing us to work with your team today." Gai, who had been shooting Neji a contemplative frown, quickly spun to flash his fellow jounin a beaming grin and a thumbs up.

"Of course! Feel free to ask us anytime you and young Masaru-kun wish to train or run more missions!" Masaru blinked when Gai seemed to do that sunbeam-thing again, and quickly rubbed his eyes. Nope, still there.

"...Right. We'll do that." Nodding, Gaku offered his student a soft smile and said, "Let's go, Masaru." Blinking, Masaru slowly nodded and returned a feeble smile of his own, following his teacher in a mild daze.

That night Sasuke returned home from a long training session to find his sole living relative curled in the fetal position on the couch, his body shaking and twitching erratically. For a moment he felt a pang of worry and approached him to ask what could cause such a reaction, but after getting closer and catching mumbles of "so much green" and "no more youth please" he wisely decided not to press the issue.

oOoOo

Dinnertime at the Haruno household was always a loud affair, even moreso when they had a guest.

"Come now, Ino, surely that won't be enough!" Kizashi boomed, laughing heartily as he stood in the kitchen. "You barely have anything to eat on there!" Even as he spoke he dumped another heaping of curry onto her plate, ignoring the Yamanaka heiress's wince.

"B-but, I'm on a diet," she protested meekly, and he snorted.

"You're twelve and look like a stick! Trust me, you don't need a diet." He winked at her with a cheeky grin, only to wince when his wife suddenly back-handed his skull.

"Kizashi, stop being so pushy!" she scolded, and then turned to Ino as she added, "But he has a point dear. You look gorgeous just the way you are right now, if anything you should be eating more."

"I-I..." She trailed off, floundering for words.

"Mebuuuukiii," Kizashi whined, rubbing the back of his head with a childish pout. "If you agree with me, then why did you hit me?"

"Because you phrased it in such a crude way!" the blond woman huffed, shooting him an annoyed glare. As the pair began bickering Ino just stood in shock, too stunned to really react.

"Just give it up, Ino," Sakura called from the table, lazily waving a spoon at her direction with a small smirk. "You know there's no winning against them when they agree." Her friend visibly deflated, and with a resigned sigh she carried her plate to the table.

"They agree, and they're still fighting," she hissed as she slid into the neighboring seat. Sakura rolled her eyes, clearly amused.

"I obviously don't invite you over enough if you're this shocked," she teased lightly, slipping a spoonful of the vegetable curry into her mouth. Sakura hummed in approval as she rolled it over her tongue, swallowing with a smile. As she ate another spoonful Ino shot her a perplexed look, her blue eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"What's with you?" she questioned warily. "You hate spicy stuff." Holding up a single finger, Sakura swished the curry around her mouth a bit more before swallowing, washing it down with a sip of milk.

"Mom found a recipe that doesn't use anything spicy," she explained. "It's got some onions I think, but it's super mild and barely tingles. Drinking milk tones it down too." Elbowing Ino in the ribs, she flashed her a cheeky smile as she added, "Come on, try it. They have a point you know, dieting won't be helpful on missions."

"Yeah, but boys don't like fat girls," Ino huffed, but she ate a spoonful of curry anyway. Her eyes lit up, and she moaned softly at the taste as she swallowed, making Sakura grin.

"Maybe most guys don't," the pinkette allowed, stirring the various vegetable bits around the bowl with her spoon. "But you like Masaru-kun, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Ino agreed with a small smirk. "He's so shy and awkward, he looks like a puppy. And you know that those kinds of guys are the sweetest ones. Once I get through to him, he'll be the cutest boyfriend ever."

"Yeah, if you're into that stuff," Sakura said, rolling her eyes with a smile. She agreed with Ino that Masaru's shy nature made him decidedly adorable, but more like a puppy. She preferred Sasuke, a sentiment that had only grown since working with him and learning more about him. "But you know, I don't think Masaru-kun cares about how thin you are."

Her words gave Ino pause, the blond shooting her another wary look. "Seriously? No offense forehead, but what do _you_ know about boys?" The teasing nickname earned a mild eye twitch from Sakura, her smile growing a bit more forced under her irritation.

"Not much, Ino-pig," she replied through gritted teeth, enjoying the way Ino's right eye twitched. "But, I have a pretty good feeling that Masaru-kun doesn't like shallow girls. He cares more about skill."

"Oh? And how would you know that?"

"Call it a hunch," Sakura deflected with a coy smirk, taking another mouthful to delay questioning. Ino huffed at the vague answer and crossed her arms, but she didn't try to press further, much to Sakura's relief. She didn't want to try to explain that she suspected it due to Akari's influence.

Even after all these years, whenever asked about when she became serious about being a kunoichi, she thought back to that moment when her old classmate challenging Sasuke in the training field that day. Akari hadn't been her singular motivation and they never actually interacted, but her words that day had definitely lit a fire in Sakura. No way Akari didn't rub off on Masaru. They were _twins_ , he lived with her and had constant exposure to her drive.

Not to mention their mom Ryoko had been pretty badass too. Sakura had one of her bingo book entries from before her retirement, listing the Uchiha Kunoichi as an A-rank threat nicknamed the "Bloody Sunburst." It hung in Sakura's room alongside a slew of other entries for famous kunoichi, both active and dead.

Just thinking about her Wall of Inspiration made her eyes sparkle with excitement, her lips tilting into a small smile. ' _Cha, they're so cool!_ ' her inner self declared, eliciting a mental image of a blacked-out version of herself pumping a fist into the air while grinning with manic glee. ' _One day I'm gonna be that awesome too!_ ' Between Uchiha Ryoko, Tsunade, Uzumaki Kushina, Inuzuka Tsume, Mitarashi Anko and everyone else whose entries adorned her wall—

Well. She had no shortage of inspiring role models to live up to.

"Ino, don't let your training go down the drain just to look pretty," she told her friend, shaking her spoon at her in a playfully scolding fashion. "Trust me, there's nothing sexier than a kunoichi who's just as strong as she is pretty."

Ino paused, her lips slowly quirking into a small smirk. "Sexy, huh?" she mused aloud, turning back to her food. "Mm, I think you might be onto something there. I mean, almost any girl can be pretty with the right makeup and outfit."

"But not just anyone can take down an army on their own," Sakura added in a singsong voice, and Ino's smirk grew.

"And look good while doing it, too!" Grinning at each other, the girls nodded and began eating more earnestly, though of course they made sure to be delicate about it. No point devolving into pigs and stuffing themselves. Ladies never made a mess.

By this point Sakura's parents had finished their arguing, and joined them at the table. "Ah, it's so good to see you two enjoying my cooking so much," Mebuki sighed, contentedly eating her own curry. "It makes all those hours hunched over the stove worth it." The girls hummed in agreement, too busy savoring the flavor to respond.

"You know, that reminds me," Kizashi mused out loud, leaning back in his seat. "Sakura-chan, you still haven't invited your team over for dinner yet." The pinkette instantly froze, her spoon still hovering in her open mouth.

"That's right," Mebuki agreed, looking thoughtful as her green eyes rose to the ceiling in contemplation. "My, I can't believe I didn't notice sooner..." After a moment Sakura slowly removed her spoon from her mouth and set it on the plate, taking a moment to savor the curry in her mouth before swallowing.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking at her parents with the most innocent smile possible. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been a team for a couple weeks now, haven't you?" Mebuki pointed out. "At this point I think it's safe to say you'll be working together for a while. You should really invite them over sometime. Team dinners are so good for building morale."

"Besides, I need to set these boys straight," Kizashi added cheerfully, winking at them. "After all, I need to make sure they understand what's okay and not okay when dealing with my precious little girl." Mebuki's smile faded slightly as she shot her husband a mildly annoyed glance from the corner of her eye, turning back to her meal with a prim frown. Her elbow abruptly shot out and jabbed him in the ribs, making the pink-haired man double over with a loud gasp.

Next to her Sakura could hear Ino stifling snickers, clearly amused by their bickering. Picking up her spoon again and stuffing another helping of curry into her mouth, Sakura discreetly stomped on her friend's foot. She smirked slightly at the pained hiss that followed, ignoring the icy glare Ino sent her way as she savored the taste.

 _A team dinner, huh..._ Sakura had a feeling her parents _might_ be a bit too overwhelming for Naruto and Sasuke, but they might be onto something there.

The thought lingered for the rest of the night even as she gossiped with Ino and went to bed, and it continued to nag at her well into the next day as Team Seven cleaned litter in a park while Kakashi read his book like usual. As she speared a plastic bag with a pole and dropped it in her trash bag, she raised her head to look at her two teammates thoughtfully.

Sensing her gaze, Naruto turned to regard her curiously. "Hey, Sakura-chan, is something up?" he asked, mildly confused at the lack of hostility in her expression. Not that Sakura went out of her way to act hostile, but normally she ignored him or glared at him in annoyance for doing something stupid. Humming thoughtfully, Sakura tilted her head slightly.

"...What do you guys think about having a team dinner?"


	15. Chapter 14: Everything is Muffled

Chapter 14

* * *

 _"I can hear everything and nothing. The 'everything' is just really muffled."_

* * *

Libraries seemed to have a magical sort of power to them that tended to incite a reverent awe in their patrons. Even without the colorful signs reminding patrons to be quiet, Konoha's library had a sort of atmosphere that naturally compelled visitors to be as quiet as possible. People spoke in hushed whispers if they had to speak at all, and ninja unconsciously reverted to their stealth training to mute their footsteps. The silence had a sort of weight to it, and it felt like even the smallest sound would shatter it painfully.

That natural compulsion to produce as little noise as possible made Masaru's current task rather uncomfortable.

Wrinkling his nose as he slid a dusty book off a shelf, the Uchiha found his face scrunching up almost painfully as he tried to fight off the urge to sneeze. Ultimately he lost the battle and winced as his sneeze seemed to echo in the silence, grimacing as he placed the book in a basket next to him. Looking at the thick layer of dust coating the other books, he felt his shoulders sag in dismay. Great.

Recently the library had purchased some new shelves to replace the original ones due to some concerns about their integrity, and rather than spend hours trying to reorganize them the librarians chose to hire genin to handle the grunt work. Given the size of the job, the library hired multiple teams, and since Masaru had no official team he was a perfect fit. All of them had been subjected to a one-hour crash course on the organizational system and then thrown right into work.

Unlike most D-rank missions, this one didn't have a strict time limit. The library had pretty long hours to accommodate the busy schedules of the ninja population, so the genin had to work around the presence of patrons throughout the day. They did so by breaking into groups and tackling the shelves one by one, stripping them of the books, replacing it, and then reshelving it. None of the steps could be rushed since the books needed to be organized properly, so it made for slow progress.

The Konoha Public Library had a total of eighty-eight shelves on the first floor. Today marked the second day of the mission, and between eleven genin they had managed to replace seven bookshelves.

Dust tickled his nose as Masaru grabbed another book, prompting a loud sneeze and another wince as it echoed loudly. As someone who did not do well with massive amounts of attention, he did not feel comfortable with the amount of stares the sneeze garnered. Sighing in mild frustration, Masaru scrunched up his nose as he grabbed another book, trying to block out everyone else.

As a result, he didn't notice someone approach him until he heard a voice whisper from his right. "...-un? Masaru-kun?" He gave a small start as he finally heard his name, whirling to face the newcomer while unconsciously tightening his grip on the book in his hand. A silver-haired young man with glasses stood next to him, and Masaru relaxed as he recognized him.

"Hi, Kabuto-san," he greeted in a hushed tone, rubbing his nose. He and Kabuto's team had worked together on two occasions, and while his teammates seemed rather intimidating, so far he liked Kabuto. He seemed kind and polite, and clearly more intelligent than the average person.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" he asked, looking mildly apologetic, and Masaru shrugged.

"A little. You, ah, snuck up on my deaf side." Instantly he regretted saying it, as Kabuto's face lit up with surprise and barely concealed curiosity.

"You're deaf in your right ear?" he asked, frowning slightly. "I didn't know that."

"I... don't like to talk about it much." Masaru shrugged as he turned back to the shelf, hoping Kabuto wouldn't press for more details. He didn't like to think about his ear, it brought back too many bad memories. Reaching for another book, his fingers barely brushed the cover before he jerked his hand back. His already dirty fingertips now looked almost completely gray from the dust coating the book, stunning him.

"That is a lot of dust," Kabuto commented lightly, offering Masaru a napkin. "Here, wipe your hands real quick." As Masaru obediently took the napkin and wiped his fingers, Kabuto produced a white surgical mask and extended it to him. "I keep a couple masks on hand for allergies and such, and I thought you might want one. That's why I came over, actually."

Smiling faintly, Masaru nodded and took it, quickly pulling it over his face. "Thanks, Kabuto." The silver-haired youth offered him a few more words of encouragement before returning to his team, leaving Masaru to work alone.

The rest of the day passed with minimal sneezing on Masaru's part, and when he finally left at five, he stopped at a convenience store to buy some more masks for the next day before heading home. Masaru liked the library, but the long hours of silence had started to get to him. He looked forward to getting home and spending time with Sasuke, hoping tonight would be a bit livelier than usual.

As it turned out, his wish was granted.

"Hey, can you hand me the tomatoes?"

"Hn."

"Thanks."

"Ugh, come ooonnnn, can't we have ramen?"

"Naruto, you idiot! You can't just eat ramen for every meal!"

"Why not?"

Masaru stood in the doorway of the apartment in mild shock, wondering if he'd gone to the wrong one as he watched Team Seven flit about the space. Spices wafted through the air as Sakura hovered in the kitchen over a large pot with a bored-looking Sasuke standing nearby chopping up tomatoes. Naruto meanwhile slumped at the table with a sulky expression on his face at the lack of ramen.

"You need more variety than just ramen!" Sakura scolded, shooting the sulky blond a glare as she sprinkled the tomatoes into the pot. "There's no way you can get all the nutrients you need from just that!"

"Yeah right!" Naruto sat up and pounded the table with his fist, his face screwed up with fiery determination. "There's all kinds of ramen! I can eat a different kind every day for a month!"

"That still doesn't mean you'll have all the nutrients!" The pinkette rolled her eyes and turned to Sasuke. "Hey, can you chop up the mushrooms for me? I think the rice is almost done."

"On it," Sasuke replied, walking over to the cutting board where several mushrooms with brown tops rested. Slowly taking in the strangely domestic scene, Masaru didn't notice Kakashi next to him until he spoke.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Masaru-kun," the silver-haired jounin greeted jovially, leaning against the wall by the door with an orange book in hand, though his eye flitted over to look at him. "Sakura suggested we have a team dinner, and by process of elimination we decided your and Sasuke's apartment to be the best place."

The three members of Team Seven perked up when they heard Kakashi address the new arrival, having failed to notice him while caught up in cooking. Sasuke nodded at him in acknowledgment and Naruto flashed him a bright grin, though Sakura meanwhile looked a bit sheepish. "Sorry about the intrusion," she greeted. "My house can get pretty loud at dinner, and apparently Naruto's apartment isn't fit for human habitation—"

"Hey!" Naruto snapped irritably.

"It's true," Kakashi offered blandly, turning a page in his book. "You have an armchair made out of empty ramen cups."

"What the—how do you even know that!?" Naruto sputtered, pointing at him accusingly. "Did you break in?"

"Well, I have to keep an eye on my cute little genin, don't I?" Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile, while Masaru shot him a sour look. Leaning forward slightly, he glanced at the cover of the man's book before sharply raising his head to glare at Kakashi.

The jounin returned his glare with an unaffected stare, before sighing and closing his book. "Alright, I get it. I could have phrased that better. I never broke into Naruto's apartment, the Hokage took me to visit it when I got assigned this team. Just so you know, despite my choice in reading material I'm not _that_ kind of pervert."

"Aha!" Naruto leaped up from his seat and pointed to Kakashi. "So you admit you're a pervert—ow!" He yelped as Sakura tossed a wooden spoon at his head.

"Naruto, stop being so immature!" she scolded, turning back to the pot with a huff. Luckily they had another wooden spoon, seeing as the other one currently lay on the floor. Naruto just rubbed his head and stuck out his tongue at the back of her head, totally disregarding her words.

Eying the jounin warily, Masaru slunk over to the table and sank into the chair next to Naruto's, pointedly positioning himself between Kakashi and his friend. The blond brightened at the proximity and sat back down with a grin, pleased to have his old friend next to him. The sight made Masaru's glare falter, unable to stay mad for long in the presence of sunshine incarnate. "Hey, Masaru! How's your training going?"

Masaru smiled and shrugged, relaxing as he soaked in Naruto's beaming cheer. "It's pretty normal, I guess? Gaku-sensei's arm is still healing so he can't do too much hands-on stuff with me, but we've mostly been working on my aim and chakra control. Last week he got some guy he knows from ANBU to help me with kenjutsu to see if I might be any good at it."

"ANBU?" The three genin members of Team Seven visibly snapped to attention at the comment, Sakura and Sasuke both turning to regard him with rapt focus. Even Kakashi seemed interested, his single eye boring into him from behind. Wilting a bit under their combined gazes, Masaru shifted in his seat and glanced away.

"Uh, I think so, anyway," he muttered with a small shrug. "He never says it out loud, but I'm kinda guessing that's what's going on." Since meeting Kobayashi Gaku he noticed that neither he nor his coworker with the baggy eyes wore shirts that exposed their upper arms, even in casual clothes. That, combined with their vague answers to questions about their work history led him to conclude they most likely worked in ANBU.

The fact he couldn't find any records of a "Kobayashi Gaku" certainly added to his suspicions.

"Woah, that sounds so awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, clearly awestruck. "I mean, ANBU are, like, the best of the best, right? Besides the Hokage, of course."

"I guess?" Masaru shrugged, not sure if that might be true.

"I'm actually kinda jealous of you," Sakura offered, catching him by surprise. "I want to be a captain, so learning directly from ANBU agents would be amazing." Leaning over the pot, she sniffed at it and nodded in approval. "Okay, I think the stew's ready."

"Rice is almost done too," Sasuke added. At some point during the conversation he'd transferred the rice from the rice cooker into a large bowl, and at the moment he sprinkled the chopped mushrooms over it. Nodding his head to the cabinet, he added, "Plates and bowls are in there."

"Thanks." Sakura quickly opened the cabinet to retrieve five plates and bowls, and within a few minutes they'd served everyone. Steam still rose from the rice and stew as Naruto, Masaru, Sasuke and Sakura sat at the table, carrying a delicious aroma that made their mouths water. Kakashi sat on the couch with his own dinner, opting to let the kids sit together.

Taking his first bite, Masaru jolted in his seat at the explosion of flavor that coated his tongue. "Wow, this is amazing!" Naruto declared loudly, looking at the stew in shock. Surprisingly he didn't compare it to ramen, which made Sakura smile.

"Thanks, I learned from my parents," she replied. Her eyes briefly flickered upwards towards Sasuke, who sat between her and Masaru, prompting Masaru to glance at him too. His cousin ate in silence, but his face had a certain lack of tension that indicated he liked it. Noting Sakura's stare, he glanced at her briefly before pointedly looking away, making the pinkette deflate.

Typical. Sighing softly, Masaru lightly stepped on his cousin's toes to get his attention. When Sasuke snapped a startled look in his direction, Masaru gave him a pointed look and let his eyes flicker towards Sakura. Sasuke followed his gaze and his shoulders sagged with mild annoyance, but he sighed and relented to Masaru's silent demand anyway.

"It's good," he intoned flatly, resuming eating with a bored look. Sakura immediately perked up though, her eyes shining with delight as she looked at Sasuke.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun!" she replied, smiling at him sweetly, and Masaru felt his breath suddenly hitch.

If Naruto embodied sunshine, Sakura embodied spring. Gentle warmth radiated from her without being too overwhelming and full of energy like Naruto could be, her green eyes a soft shade full of fresh life and enthusiasm that promised to blossom into something greater. Staring at her pleased expression with a strange sense of awe, Masaru tensed when she glanced at him and quickly averted his gaze to her food.

"It's good," he offered with a lame smile, and then remembering Sasuke literally just said that he quickly expanded, "It's the most amazing home cooked meal I've had in years." As soon as the words left his mouth he froze, his face frozen in a strained smile as the others looked at him with varying levels of surprise. That might have been a bit too strong. After a long moment he just sank into his seat with a groan, hanging his head in shame.

"...Are you okay?" Naruto asked.

"I am lucky ninjas do not need social skills to survive or I'd never leave the academy," Masaru mumbled, not looking at him. Naruto snickered and Sasuke just shook his head with a sigh, though Sakura offered him a reassuring smile.

"It's okay," she assured him quickly. "I get what you mean, I used to be pretty shy too. Thanks for the compliment, really." Masaru raised his head and gave her a feeble smile of his own.

"I'm a bit surprised myself," Kakashi commented from the kitchen counter, reminding them of his presence. He set the empty bowl and plate next to the sink and turned to face them, reclining against the counter lazily. "You work with different teams almost every day, so I'd assume you'd be used to talking to relative strangers."

"Oh yeah, you don't have a team," Sakura mused aloud, eyes rising to the ceiling in thought. "So I guess you work with other teams for D-rank missions instead, right?"

"Pretty much," Masaru confirmed with a nod. "Most of them are older genin with no teams anymore though."

"Wait, what happened to their teams?" Naruto asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Lots of stuff?" Masaru shrugged. It tended to vary from person to person.

Noting Naruto didn't seem satisfied, Kakashi decided to elaborate for Masaru. "Generally, while the members of genin teams will have a lifelong bond, they won't be together forever. I've seen genin teams get dissolved after the deaths of multiple members, or members resigning after traumatic incidents." A heavy atmosphere fell over the room as the four genin contemplated the dark nature of his words.

While Masaru understood better than anyone that the life of a shinobi meant death, he didn't like to be reminded of it. Uncomfortable in the tense silence, he decided to try to alleviate the atmosphere. "Yeah, but most of the people I work with got left behind when their teammates became chuunin."

"Wait, that can happen?" Naruto seemed honestly surprised by this piece of information, making Sasuke scoff.

"Of course it can, dobe," he scoffed. "Do you even know how people become chuunin?" At this point Sakura and Masaru both glanced at Naruto curiously. The blank face and long silence provided their answer. Seeing as he had learned quite a bit about the exams due listening to his occasional "teammates" complain about it, Masaru felt sufficiently informed to explain it to him.

"Every six months, one of the villages hosts Chuunin Exams open to genin from all the villages," he began. "The village hosting it changes each time. I don't know much about the first two phases, but the third phase is a big tournament with guests from all over the world, including daimyo and other nobles."

His explanation left Naruto looking at him in awe, his eyes wide. "Seriously? That sounds awesome! When are the next ones?" At this point Masaru paused, frowning slightly as he tried to remember.

"June, no, July," he finally answered. "The summer exams are always on July First. I think it's being held here this time, too." The three members of Team Seven instantly exchanged pointed looks, their gazes calculating. Nodding, they turned to look at Kakashi with near-identical expressions full of fierce determination.

"We want to take it," Sasuke declared, and the other two nodded in firm agreement. The jounin looked back with a bland expression, seemingly apathetic in the face of their sudden resolve.

"You realize you haven't even been genin for a month, right?" he reminded them.

"You realize I'm gonna be Hokage, right?" Naruto retorted with a cheeky grin. "And what better way to get started than to become chuunin right off the bat?"

"We still have a couple months to get ready," Sakura added with a sly smile. "It's only April." Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"You three might be underestimating the chuunin exams a bit," he commented casually, his lone eye sliding over to regard Masaru. "Don't you think, Masaru?"

"A little," he admitted sheepishly. When the others turned to look at him with looks of betrayal, he retained his composure and offered, "The exams sound pretty hard. One of the people I work with said he's taken it five times, and he seems kinda strong?" He hadn't actually seen Kabuto fight, of course, but he seemed smart enough to make up for most physical disadvantages.

"F-five times?" Naruto stared at him in shock, his jaw hanging wide open.

"That is an excellent point, but not totally conducive to rating the difficulty," Kakashi interjected. "The standards for the exams vary from village to village, too. Konoha for example requires teams of three to take the first two phases, but other villages will allow for individuals to take it alone. Of course promotion is ultimately up to the examinees' native village, but that doesn't matter if they can't make it to the third round."

"So basically, you could theoretically pass if you take it in one village, but fail on the first phase in another?" Sakura asked thoughtfully, and Kakashi nodded.

"Pretty much. In any event though, there's still some time until the Chuunin Exams and it's still too early for me to decide whether or not you guys are ready for them yet. For now you should focus on improving yourselves first and foremost. Don't even worry about the exams yet."

Team Seven looked vaguely reluctant but still mumbled various forms of assent as they resumed eating. Masaru just eyed his friend and cousin thoughtfully, taking a bite of the mushroom rice. He had a feeling they wouldn't let it go.


	16. Chapter 15: Probably Cause Trauma

**A/N:** Surprise! You're actually getting THREE updates this week. I'm actually just really, really excited to get to the next chapter, because it marks the start of the Wave mission, which is when the plot REALLY kicks into gear. Seriously, I'm 99% sure I got something good. Consider today's chapter the calm before the storm.

ALSO! One more thing: I've written a revised version of the prologue because I think the current one is just a bit too boring. I'm still wavering on whether or not to use it though, so I'd love your opinions on it! I posted it to Stash on DeviantArt, and it can be found at sta . sh / 01bum24dxvs6 — just remove the [""] from the period!

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

 _"Sometimes when I look at my kids, I just think, 'Wow, I am totally gonna traumatize you at some point aren't I?' Sorry kiddos."_

* * *

"Sakura-chan, come on, let's get ramen after this mission! Pleeaaaaase?"

Sakura groaned in mild irritation, her eyebrow twitching as she tried not to look at her annoying blond teammate. "You know Naruto, asking a girl out for ramen every day makes you seem kinda cheap," she quipped dryly, making him blink and look at her in confusion.

"Huh? Whaddaya mean? Ramen's awesome!"

"And cheap," Sasuke interjected, hefting an armful of logs onto the stump.

"Hey! Ichiraku's is the best stuff in town, teme!" Naruto scowled at his teammate but the black-haired boy merely scoffed.

"Oi, dobe, get over here and start chopping these up." The blond still bristled at the comment but let it slide, stomping over with an old axe in hand. He swung it down on the logs with a sharp, resounding _crack_ that cut through the air, grumbling under his breath all the while.

Today's D-rank mission consisted of splitting logs for a local restaurant that prided themselves on using wood-burning ovens for cooking, which apparently added some special type of flavor to the food? Honestly, none of them particularly cared for the specifics, not particularly picky about cooking. Their lack of interest in gourmet cooking ironically seemed to be one of their few common interests.

At this point, Team Seven's teamwork could be described as shaky, but gradually improving as they felt out each other's strengths and weaknesses. Each of them had issues working with the others for varying reasons, but they had definitely come far from the awkward and individualistic trio who failed the Bell Test a month ago. The team dinner definitely helped build unity.

They'd worked out a good system to maximize their efficiency. Sasuke gathered the uncut chunks of wood, Naruto handled splitting them with the axe, and Sakura arranged the split logs into large bags so Sasuke could carry them into the restaurant more easily. The last part had been Sakura's own idea, because she admittedly lacked in physical strength compared to her teammates, but it ultimately proved more convenient since it allowed Sasuke to transport more firewood at once without placing undue stress on his arms.

Naturally, Kakashi just sat to the side reading his filthy porn book as usual.

Naruto made a loud grunt as he swung the axe down on yet another piece of wood, and within seconds Sakura quickly scooped up the two halves and slipped them into the bag with the others. "I think that was the last one," Sasuke commented, eying the empty plot of land that had once been occupied by the seemingly endless array of wood. The comment garnered a brief glance from their jounin sensei, and he hummed as he appraised their work.

"It was indeed," he confirmed. "I'll take in the last bunch of logs, and then we'll be done for the day. Good job team." The three genin breathed a giant sighs of relief at this, all of them sore and sweaty from working in the sun for the past three hours. Even Sasuke, who would spend nearly every waking hour training if left unattended, felt more than a little glad to finally be done.

"Man, my arms are so _sore_ ," Naruto whined, dropping the axe and rotating his right shoulder. "I am so tired of these stupid D-ranks." As he spoke Kakashi snapped his book shut with a small thump and slipped it into his pouch, taking the bag from Sakura.

"Well, look at it this way," Kakashi commented. "You're building up a lot of muscle." With that he disappeared into the restaurant to hand over the last batch of logs and collect payment from the owner. Since they hadn't been formally dismissed, the trio of genin collapsed in a circle on the stump, their backs instantly slouching and reclining against each other.

A brief silence fell over them, their minds wandering as they savored the opportunity to finally rest. Naturally, this had not been what they expected when they became genin. Naruto pouted and almost crossed his arms, but the minute twitch in his muscles as he started to raise them prompted him to change his mind. "Ugh, I don't think I can even lift chopsticks," he groaned, letting his arms dangle loosely at his sides.

"At least we didn't have to do another extermination," Sakura muttered darkly, and the trio shuddered at the memory. Cockroaches had coated the interior of some rooms so thickly they couldn't even see the walls or floors, and then when they started spraying the insecticide and _sheets_ of them started falling from the ceiling...

Well, even Kakashi had decided enough was enough, and they had never been more grateful to the man than when he ordered them to withdraw. The Hokage ended up ordering a team of Aburame clan members to investigate the house, and last Team Seven heard it got razed to the ground. They had absolutely no issues with that.

"Never again," Sasuke muttered, his eyebrow twitching at the memory, and the others groaned in agreement.

"Yeah, well, I'm still getting really tired of all these D-ranks," Naruto grumbled, scowling at the ground. "We're ninja, not stupid chore-monkeys!" At one point his immature whining would have irritated his teammates, but today both Sasuke and Sakura found themselves silently agreeing with the blonde.

"We have been doing these missions for a couple weeks now," the pink-haired kunoichi murmured thoughtfully, closing her eyes as she reclined. "And I feel like we're getting pretty fast at them, at least compared to when we started."

"And the pay's not that high," Sasuke added. His teammates shot him curious glances over their shoulders.

"Since when do you care about money?" Naruto questioned. For all his faults the Uchiha had never struck him as the greedy type.

"I don't," Sasuke replied flatly. "But if we're going to be doing chores when we could be training, then I'd at _least_ like the pay to be worth it." His teammates "ah"ed in understanding and nodded before falling silent again. As it stretched Sakura bit her lip, balling up the fabric of her dress in her fists as she fell deep in thought.

"...Maybe, we could ask Kakashi-sensei to request a C-rank mission next time?" she suggested after a few moments, her voice tinged with uncertainty. When she felt the boys tense at her suggestion, she sucked in a small breath and added, "I mean, like I said, we've been doing these missions pretty fast compared to when we started. We're definitely improving. We... might be ready."

Naruto's eyes shined at the thought, and he leaped from the stump with a loud shout as he pumped his fists into the air. "Heck yeah! We're definitely ready!" Then he froze, and he gave a long, drawn-out whine as he quickly lowered his arm. "Aaaagh, still so sore..."

"Tch, dobe," the Uchiha muttered under his breath, while Sakura just sighed and hung her head in exasperation. For all they'd improved over the past two weeks, they still had a long way to go before they'd be a cohesive team. A long moment of silence passed, but then Sasuke surprised them by continuing, "You're right though."

"Huh?" Sakura gave a small start at the comment, whirling her head to look at Sasuke in surprise. The black-haired boy leaned forward with his chin propped in his hand, a thoughtful gleam in his eye.

"D-ranks aren't getting us anywhere," he declared. "We're wasting our time, it's not like we're making any progress."

"Maa, it might seem like that now, but D-rank missions are about more than just chores." The trio startled and leapt to their feet with kunai in hand, spinning to face the new voice. Kakashi casually stood behind them, hands in his pockets and his posture slightly slouched. "The purpose of D-rank missions is to help you build teamwork and get used to proper mission protocol in a safe environment. On a C-rank mission, you'll likely have to leave the village and may run into dangerous situations."

A sharp glint entered his eye, his voice dropping a notch. "If you're not prepared, you might not come back."

An instinctive shudder ran down Naruto and Sakura's spine at the sudden dark tone, but Sasuke remained unfazed, instead looking thoughtful. "Leave the village, huh," he murmured thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing.

"In any event," Kakashi continued, his tone light and casual once more, "while you guys have definitely improved since you first started, I'm not sure you're at that point yet. But I can understand you're all getting rather antsy about this, so how about this? If you guys can work together to complete two missions every day this week, I'll think about asking the Hokage for a C-rank."

The trio of genin exchanged glances at the offer, each silently gauging the others' reaction. A fiery resolve erupted in their eyes, and they turned to Kakashi with determined expressions. "We'll do it!" they chorused in unison, their eyes glinting with determination and Naruto enthusiastically pumping a fist in the air.

Then the blond paused and whined as his arm fell to the side. "So sooooreee..."

His teammates groaned in irritation, shaking their heads, while Kakashi just looked on with a bland expression. "...Right. We'll see. I'll see you guys at the training grounds tomorrow." With that he disappeared in a flurry of leaves, leaving the trio behind to glower at the spot where he'd stood.

A brief moment of silence followed, and then they all abruptly hung their heads with a loud groan.

"...He just tricked us into doing more chores, didn't he," Naruto grumbled with a sour look.

"Yep," Sakura muttered sullenly. Then a thought occurred to her, and her face grew even more sullen. "You know, I just realized Kakashi-sensei didn't say he _would_ ask the Hokage. He just said he'd _think_ about it."

The two males looked at her in horror, and then all three released strangled shouts of frustration.

* * *

"We might leave the village on a mission."

Masaru sharply snapped his head to stare at his cousin, the udon almost slipping out of his mouth in his surprise. Sasuke sat across from him looking placid and bored as ever, but even so his eyes flitted up to gauge Masaru's reaction. Blinking slowly, he closed his mouth and swallowed, exhaling through his nose.

"I..." He started to speak but trailed off, unsure what to say, and eventually settled on a lame, "Okay?" Sasuke's expression instantly darkened, his dark eyes boring into him so intensely the brunette winced and quickly averted his gaze to his food.

"Okay?" his cousin repeated, drawing out the word slowly in a dangerously low tone. "I tell you I'm going to leave the village, and that's all you have to say?" Masaru frowned, fidgeting under Sasuke's gaze as he pointedly kept his eyes fixed on his dinner.

"I... don't really know what else to say," he mumbled lamely, giving a half-hearted shrug. "I mean, getting a mission outside the village is a big thing. I'm not gonna tell you not to do it."

"I'd be gone for a while though," Sasuke pointed out, still squinting at him. "You'd be home alone anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks." The pointed reminder made Masaru wince, sucking in a sharp breath. His head sharply bowed so his bangs fell over his face, his shoulders tense and rigid. Across from him Sasuke stiffened, and after a few moments he leaned back in his seat with a sigh. "...Right. You get that."

Masaru didn't respond, just turned his head to stare at the floor. Though he still had half his bowl full of udon, suddenly he didn't feel that hungry. Judging by the lack of clinking from silverware clattering against porcelain, he suspected Sasuke lost his appetite too. A tense atmosphere draped over the Uchiha boys, neither of them looking at each other as they dwelled in their own thoughts.

"...I don't want to get in your way," Masaru mumbled after a while. Sasuke perked up at the sudden comment, eyes snapping to him attentively though with less intensity than before. Frowning, Masaru searched for words and continued, "I... You have... a goal. You... you need to get stronger. I don't. Not as much as you, anyway."

Sasuke frowned at the comment, setting down his chopsticks. "...It's your clan too," he muttered. "Aren't you angry?" Masaru didn't respond right away, avoiding his cousin's gaze. His mind flashed back to that night, to the overwhelming terror as he huddled in that closet with the blood-soaked sword hovering over his stomach.

" _You truly are pathetic. I am sure Akari-chan would be much braver._ "

Those words had marked a turning point in his mind, the sole instance in that horrific night not marked by overwhelming fear. Fierce rage surged through him at the reference to his sister and overrode his mortal terror as he ordered Itachi to leave her alone, his resolve unwavering even after Itachi plunged the sword in his stomach. In that instant the world became clear as he felt nothing but hatred towards Itachi, fueled by a desire to protect her.

In the end it changed nothing though. By that point Masaru had already lost Akari anyway.

"I don't think so," he finally whispered. "Not anymore." Sasuke's expression softened at the soft tone, breathing a small sigh as he slumped in his chair.

"...Sorry." Fiddling with something in his pocket, he abruptly paused as realization flashed across his face, perking up in his seat slightly. "Hey, I just realized... I never showed you what's in that charm, did I?" The sudden change of conversation made Masaru raise his head, looking at him curiously.

"Uh... No. But isn't it bad luck to open an omamori?"

"It's not really one," Sasuke replied, pulling out the charm. "I don't count it as one, anyway. Just... promise not to laugh too hard, okay?" Now thoroughly curious, Masaru mutely nodded and Sasuke untied the string sealing it.

* * *

Far across town, a certain brown-haired man sat inside a dimly lit bar, sighing as he hunched over his drink. Various couples and groups littered the room, chatting eagerly and loudly while he sat alone at the end of the counter.

"So, I take it teaching is a bit more stressful than expected?" He jolted in his seat upon hearing a voice behind him, turning in surprise only to find a familiar silver-haired man standing behind him. Relaxing, he offered a tired smile and nodded, turning back to his drink.

"Ah, yeah, a bit," he admitted. "Working with kids is a bit... weird. I'm not used to interacting with kids, especially untrained genin."

"Maa, you'll get used to it. That or you'll go crazy." Gaku snorted in amusement, and took a large sip from his drink as Kakashi slid into the neighboring seat. Raising a hand to signal the bartender, he waited for the busty woman to set down a glass of amber liquid in front of him. "Thanks." She grunted in faint acknowledgement before she headed off to tend to other customers, leaving Gaku to side-eye Kakashi.

"You come here a lot, I take it?" he guessed.

"Occasionally," the silver-haired man demurred, glancing at his glass. His companion rolled his eyes and turned away, knowing Kakashi wouldn't drink as long as he looked at him. After taking advantage of the opening to sneak a quick sip, Kakashi's lone eye slid over to Gaku's arm, still clinging to his chest in a sling. "So, is your arm really broken?"

"Of course not," the other jounin replied, smiling wryly as he wiggled his fingers. "You know me, most injuries tend to heal pretty fast. We did break it so we could figure out how it would realistically fit into a sling, but it healed on its own within a couple hours."

"Hmm. Convenient. I have to say though, it's odd to see you with a regular hitai-ate. Or a jounin uniform. I didn't even know you owned one." His companion raised an eyebrow at the conversational tone.

"Okay senpai, what really brings you over here?" he asked, and Kakashi's eye crinkled as he smiled.

"Maa, can't a former captain check in on his old subordinate without an ulterior motive?"

"When it's you? Of course not. The only time you willingly interact with people is after disaster missions. Otherwise we need to sick Gai on you."

"Hmm." The eye smile faded, and Kakashi lowered his gaze back to his drink. "I guess you know me too well, huh." He didn't continue right away, staring at his reflection in the amber liquid. Gaku didn't press him, letting him take his time to sort through his thoughts. Eventually Kakashi made up his mind and casually commented, "My team wants to take on a C-rank mission. I plan to talk to the Hokage and get one at the end of the week."

Gaku looked at him surprise, caught off-guard by the admission. "Do you think they're ready?"

"Well, they have their flaws, but I think they can handle it," Kakashi allowed. "They've come pretty far from the bell test. Things are a bit shaky, but they're getting there. We had a team dinner at Sasuke's apartment earlier this week and it went pretty well, Masaru joined in too. They seem to be unified by a desire to take the Chuunin Exams now, in part thanks to your cute little student mentioning it."

Gaku flushed at the comment and glanced away, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry about that. But motivation is good, isn't it?"

"...Maybe. We'll see." Kakashi shrugged lightly and turned to face his comrade more fully. "That's the other part of the reason I'm here. If we go, Masaru will be left alone. As far as I know, this would be the first time in his entire life he's spent the night on his own." The comment made Gaku tense, his expression sobering.

"...He might take that pretty hard," he allowed quietly, gazing at his glass. "I... can't really blame him. I mean, just..." He sighed, and quickly downed the remainder of his drink. "Thank god he doesn't know about what _really_ happened. I know we'll have to tell him someday, but I think the council made the right choice in hiding _that_ particular detail from him."

Kakashi didn't reply right away, just staring at his reflection in his drink. "...Have you ever noticed anything about his eyes?" he asked quietly, and he felt his former subordinate tense, slowly turning to look at him with wide eyes.

"His eyes?" he repeated carefully. "I... I didn't see any changes, but... Why? You don't think...?" He trailed off, hesitant to voice it out loud. Kakashi held no such misgivings though, and turned in his seat to face him directly, his lone eye narrowed.

"Tenzo, I believe Masaru has activated the Sharingan."

* * *

(A/N: Be honest: how many of you saw Gaku actually being Tenzo/Yamato coming?)


	17. Chapter 16: Life has Twists

Chapter 16

* * *

 _"Sometimes life just throws plot twist after plot twist at you. It's really frustrating at times, especially since you can't guarantee it'll eventually have a happy ending."_

* * *

Masaru tried to make himself as small as possible as he stood next to Chouji, busy painting a fence. On the other side of the large genin he could spy Ino tilting her head back to get a better look at him, her icy blue eyes seeming to be on fire as she shot him a sly smile.

Of course. _Of_ _course_ when he finally got to work with a team from his graduating class, it would be the one with Ino on it. Because some greater power apparently found it hilarious to place him on the team with his only fangirl. From the second he met up with Team Ten to paint fences, the Yamanake heiress had been all over him, fluttering her eyelashes and flipping her hair over her shoulder with coy little comments.

Considering Masaru still had the social prowess of a skittish cat, he did not take well to the flirting.

Shuddering as she batted her eyelashes, he unwittingly emitted a small whimper and tightened his grip on his paintbrush until his knuckles turned white. Chouji—sweet, gentle, kind-hearted Chouji—turned to offer him a worried look. "Hey, are you okay Masaru?" he asked, genuinely concerned. "You seem kinda freaked out."

"I'm f-fine," Masaru croaked, sweat rolling down his face as he tried to ignore the feeling of Ino's eyes boring into him. Right now, Chouji might be his favorite person in the world. Had he not happened to stand next to Masaru when they started painting, he would have had no buffer against the crazy overbearing kunoichi.

Somewhere on Ino's other side, a sigh could be heard followed by a faint mumble that sounded vaguely like the word "troublesome". "Oi, Ino, knock it off," Shikamaru drawled, sounding vaguely irritated.

"Hey, mind your own business pineapple head!" Ino snapped, huffing childishly as he glared at him. Looking bored as ever, Shikamaru leaned back slightly to look at Masaru, who by this point had shut down and locked into "stress smile" mode.

"She's scaring you, right?" he asked flatly. Masaru made a small distressed noise while retaining that nervous smile, too terrified to bob his head in confirmation. Sweet oblivious Chouji shot Masaru a curious glance, the gears in his head visibly turning as he processed this new bit of information and the panicked smile plastered on the Uchiha's face.

"Yeah, I'd say she is," he agreed after a moment of thought. "You might want to tone it down, Ino."

" _What?_ " At this point Ino physically stepped back from the fence to scrutinize Masaru more closely, and in response to her intense stare his strained smile grew about two centimeters. "Oh, come on! Look at him, he's smiling!"

"...Isn't the Yamanaka clan supposed to be known for reading people?" Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head, and Ino stiffened.

"Shikamaru... Are you calling me dumb?" Her face grew dark, her eye visibly twitching as she glared at him. Watching the pair stare each other down, after about three seconds Chouji abruptly grabbed Masaru's arm and dragged him away from the fence at lightning speeds. Masaru yelped in surprise and dropped his brush, shooting the previously timid-seeming boy a bewildered look.

"Chouji?" he questioned, and the Akimichi boy shot him a nervous smile.

"Sorry, you don't want to be in the blast zone when those two get at it."

"Blast zone? What—" Before he could finish talking he heard a loud crash followed by a high-pitched shriek, and he whipped his head around to see Ino staring at Shikamaru in shock, a large white splotch staining the front of her top. Judging by the brush at her feet, and Shikamaru's suddenly empty hand, well. He had a pretty good idea what happened.

"Told you not to charge at me," the Nara deadpanned, confirming Masaru's theory, and Ino's face turned absolutely murderous.

"SHIKAMAAAARU!"

As Masaru and Chouji watched Ino fling herself at her teammate with a feral cry from a safe distance, the Uchiha found his mind wandering to his cousin. Just a few hours ago he'd stood at the gates to see off Team Seven as they embarked on their first mission outside the village. Escorting a bridge builder to the Land of Waves hardly seemed glamorous, but compared to _this_ , he couldn't help but feel just a little envious.

Hopefully they were having better luck than he was.

* * *

"Er... Naruto, if you lose any more blood, you'll bleed out."

The blonde shouted in shock and started panicking as he stared at his bleeding hand, dropping his kunai. "CRAP! I DON'T WANT TO DIIIIIEEEE!" As he freaked out his teammates and teacher just watched in various states of resignation, Sasuke seeming faintly annoyed while Sakura just sighed and walked over.

"Calm down and hold out your hand," she ordered levelly, producing a roll of bandages from her pouch. Naruto quickly complied, still looking fairly distressed at the prospect of potentially dying of blood loss. Kakashi watched her clean and wrap the wound with a keen eye before turning to the two prisoners bound in chains.

Barely a couple hours out, and their mission had already gone upside-down. Tazuna had lied about the actual nature of the mission. Instead of a simple escort, they had to help save a country from a tyrannical business mogul who had monopolized the economy and isolated the nation from the rest of the world. Politics. Peh.

On the bright side, they didn't have to kill said tyrannical business mogul to save the Land of Waves. As long as Tazuna could build the bridge, Gato would lose his control over the commerce and they could trade with other nations freely.

On the other hand though... Assassination would honestly be quicker and easier. Gato would surely send endless legions of assassins after Tazuna to prevent him from finishing the bridge, and given his budget he had plenty of options when hiring mercenaries. The Demon Brothers would likely be on the weaker end of the spectrum.

Alas, killing such a powerful and important businessman could cause various problems for Konoha in the long run, so Kakashi couldn't do that. But maybe if he nudged some more vindictive residents... no, no, he couldn't involve civilians. He sighed at the thought, resigned to the fact that his mission would likely be even more difficult than he anticipated right now.

When they arrived at the Land of Waves, his suspicions proved right. "Get down!" he ordered, dragging Tazuna as he and his students dropped to the ground. A flash of silver swung overheard with a loud, reverberating _swoosh_ , narrowly missing their heads. As Kakashi followed the movement he quickly identified it as a large sword, his eyes narrowing as it crashed into a tree.

He gritted his teeth as he quickly got to his feet, clutching a kunai with a death grip as he glared at a figure that landed on the blade's handle. Behind him Kakashi could hear his students springing into a defensive formation around Tazuna, and if not for the severity of the situation Kakashi might feel a bit of pride for thinking to do so without orders. As it stood though, he kept his gaze trained on the new arrival, too busy running calculations of the upcoming battle to think about that.

"Well, well, well," drawled the man, turning his head slightly to face them. "What do we have here."

Gato had definitely spared no expense in hiring mercenaries. No matter how desperate he may have become for income after defecting from Kiri, Momochi Zabuza definitely would not come cheap.

"Protect Tazuna and don't interfere," he ordered his genin. "This man is far beyond your league." Though he didn't look back he could imagine them nodding, their faces filled with that same resolve they'd shown when requesting the mission and discussing the Chuunin Exams. Funnily enough, it occurred to him that if they survived this mission, Kakashi would have absolutely zero qualms entering them into the exams.

Jaw clenching, Kakashi reached for his headband to reveal his secret weapon, already knowing he'd need it to survive this fight.

 _Obito, I'm counting on you to give me a hand..._

* * *

" ** _You are weak, boy. So weak and pathetic._** "

Cold sweat dripped down Naruto's face as he watched Kakashi-sensei clash with the enemy, their figures little more than blurs in the hazy white mist shrouding the area. Nauseating killing intent radiated from both Kakashi and the enemy, so thick and heavy even Sasuke seemed paralyzed.

" ** _You can't even think clearly right now, can you?_** "

The loud clank of metal died down as Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, sucking in a sharp breath.

" ** _Pathetic. Truly, truly pathetic._** "

Amber liquid pooled around his legs as he stood in a sewer, giant steel bars towering above him and disappearing in the abyss. Red eyes glowed in the darkness high above him, inhuman lips curling back in a mocking sneer that exposed row upon row of jagged white teeth.

" **Look at you,** " the monster taunted, leering at the blond disdainfully. " **You can't even** ** _do_** **anything, can you? You never can. You're just a weak, useless waste of space.** "

" _Shut up!_ " Naruto roared, fury blazing in his blue eyes as he snarled at the physical embodiment of hatred. " _Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!_ I know what you're doing, you bastard, and it ain't gonna work! I'm never gonna give you control of my body you damn fox!"

The giant fox laughed, a dark rumbling noise full of malice and mocking. " **Perhaps not now,** " the Kyuubi jeered, " **But you will someday.** "

Naruto's eyes popped open in the real world, a flash of hateful red sparking in the blue orbs before vanishing once more, his teeth grinding in frustration.

In Konoha, a certain story circulated among the villagers, a horrible memory spoken only in whispers and history books. One night, the Nine-tailed Fox suddenly attacked Konoha, causing widespread destruction and death. The Fourth Hokage valiantly battled against it for hours, but in the end he could not defeat it without sacrificing his life.

What most versions of the story omitted was that the Kyuubi could not die like a normal creature though, as it had no physical form. Instead, the Hokage chose to seal it in a newborn baby to end its rampage.

That baby had been Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto had not been told of his burden. He had found out on his own after a particularly bad birthday which ended with the fox feeding on his overwhelming grief to try to possess him. Ever since then, he'd been forced to interact with his unwanted prisoner on a somewhat regular basis, the fox pulling him into the seal to tempt him into using its power.

Right now, the fox certainly had plenty of fodder.

At long last he got to go on his first C-rank mission, finally setting foot outside Konoha and beginning the illustrious ninja career he'd always dreamed about. Yet when faced with his first enemies, he froze.

He just stood paralyzed as Kakashi-sensei seemed to die and couldn't move, not even when one of the enemies hurled a barrage of shuriken in his direction. If not for Sakura pulling him out of the way and Sasuke halting their attacks, he would've been shredded just like Kakashi. As it stood he provided barely any assistance in their first battle, forcing Sakura to protect both him and the client, and he _still_ got poisoned.

When they arrived at the Land of Wave and nearly got their heads lopped off by a giant sword hurled through the air like a kunai, he didn't freeze up again. Naruto felt a fiery determination ignite in him as he moved to guard the client with his teammates, determined not to be a liability. One bad start would be enough, this time he'd actually _do_ something and be a hero!

And yet—he couldn't do anything.

"Everyone! Take Tazuna and run! He can't move while maintaining the water prison!"

Kakashi's voice came out garbled and distorted as he screamed from within the sphere of water imprisoning him, his eyes wide and qwild with panic. The trio of genin stood facing Zabuza in horror, Naruto panting as he glared at Zabuza's foot atop his fallen hitai-ate. He understood now, they didn't stand a chance. He might be Hokage someday, but right now he was just a genin. He didn't have the power to take him on, and neither did Sasuke or Sakura.

He could feel the Kyuubi's taunting smirk, soft whispers echoing in his mind as it tried to coax him into using its power. Naruto's hands clenched into fists at his side as he pushed it away, shoving down his overwhelming fear.

Fire ignited in him once more and he rushed forward, ignoring his teammates' startled shouts. Through some quick moves and a small feint he managed to retrieve his hitai-ate from the missing-nin before retreating. "I won't give in," he growled, tying his forehead protector in its rightful place, the engraved leaf gleaming proudly atop his forehead.

He wouldn't surrender to Zabuza _or_ let the fox gain control.

Brute strength wouldn't work this time, they needed to fight smart. Naruto knew better than anyone he didn't have a naturally strategic mind, but right now he needed to think of a plan. Inspiration struck and his hands flew into a now-familiar seal, dozens of shadow clones popping into existence. They flung themselves at Zabuza with a roaring battle cry, piling atop him in a giant mound of orange.

As the swordsman began slashing through them, Naruto hid behind one and transformed into windmill shuriken, having the clone throw it to Sasuke. To his credit, Sasuke seemed to recognize the plan immediately and did exactly as Naruto wanted, throwing his own shuriken at the same time and having Naruto hide in its shadow. Zabuza clearly didn't have any expectations in their abilities, so they'd count on him to underestimate them.

Sure enough Zabuza caught the real shuriken and easily jumped over Naruto without releasing his hold on the water prison. As he did though Sakura unleashed a flurry of her own shuriken in the swordsman's direction with an angry shout, her eyes burning with a steely resolve. Her attack did little good as Zabuza easily blocked them with the windmill shuriken, so it barely served as more than a brief distraction.

Naruto could work with that.

Dispelling the transformation, Naruto quickly flung a kunai at Zabuza's arm from behind. The Mist-nin swiveled his head to look at the blonde in surprise, swinging the windmill shuriken to deflect the last of Sakura's shuriken even as he moved to dodge, but it was too late. Even as he jerked his arm away from the water prison Naruto's kunai managed to graze his forearm, drawing a line of blood before barreling into the water clone in front of him.

Winning was outside their reach. But if Naruto could break the water prison and release Kakashi, then Kakashi could handle the rest.

The clone burst in near unison with the sphere, both collapsing into a giant pool of water that crashed into the lake. Zabuza looked even angrier than before, his murderous intent spiking as he spun and swung his sword at Naruto. It proved futile though, because the plan had worked. Kakashi suddenly appeared between them and blocked the blade with the metal plate on his glove, his Sharingan eye burning as he glared at Zabuza.

"Well done, you three," he said, and the three genin perked at the praise, unable to help the small but proud smiles as they quickly regrouped on land.

From that point on Kakashi had the upper hand in the battle, mimicking Zabuza's jutsu even as he made the first hand sign. Towering spirals of water rose from the lake and formed into twin dragons, eyes flashing gold as they crashed into each other. The sheer epicness of the battle left Naruto in awe. Now that Kakashi was winning, he didn't need to be so on edge, which meant he could focus on other things.

"Dammit, Kakashi-sensei's been holding back on us!" he growled to his teammates. Sakura shot him a look of disbelief, her stance faltering slightly.

"Seriously, Naruto!?" she hissed. "You're gonna talk about that _now_!? When we're up against a rogue ninja who almost beat Kakashi!?"

"...Actually, I think he's right," Sasuke grumbled, making both Naruto and Sakura spin to face him in shock. Teme, agreeing with _Naruto_? This mission just kept throwing surprises their way one after another, didn't it?

That sentiment proved even more accurate when, after Kakashi pinned Zabuza and prepared to deal the final blow, senbon suddenly flung into the missing-nin's neck. Kakashi stepped back as an unknown ninja appeared out of no where, catching everyone by surprise. Though he wore a mask he seemed young, his height closer to theirs and his soft voice showing him to be in the throes of puberty.

To call Naruto stunned would be an understatement. This—this _kid_ , so obviously close to their own age, just managed to take down Zabuza— _Zabuza_ , who was so _strong_ and almost _killed_ _them_ —with a needle. His stomach churned in disbelief and he felt rage start to surge through him, because _how_? How could he be that strong?

"Naruto, in this world there are children who are younger than you and stronger than me."

Kakashi's words flooded him with a spike of frustration and rage. Retrieving Zabuza's still form, the Hunter-nin thanked them for their aid in taking down Zabuza and disappeared in a flurry of leaves, but it didn't lessen Naruto's frustration. Shouting angrily, the blonde ran to the spot he stood and started pounding the ground.

"What was all this for?! What are we anyway!? Why are we so pathetic!"

He could hear Kakashi approach but didn't stop pounding, didn't look at him until the man caught his arm. "Things like this happen when you're a ninja," he informed the blond, his voice grave and bordering on apathetic. "If you're frustrated, apply it next time!" Shaking as he suppressed a rage-induced sob, Naruto let his arm go limp and Kakashi released his wrist, allowing his arm to fall to his side.

Satisfied Naruto understood his point, Kakashi turned to the others. "The mission isn't over yet. We need to take Tazuna home." The others straightened at the reminder of their mission, having temporarily forgotten about it in the chaos.

The bridge builder in question released a loud laugh, flashing them a bright grin. "So sorry, everyone! You can rest at my house!"

"Okay. Everyone!" Kakashi's volume rose, his voice switching to the more commanding tone of a military leader commanding his soldiers. "Let's perk up and go." Nodding, the trio of genin and their client began following him. However, Kakashi barely moved a step before he froze, his body twitching before he toppled forward.

" _Kakashi-sensei!_ " Shouts of horror rose from the genin as they watched their teacher fall the genin, even ever-stoic Sasuke joining in with a look of horror. Rushing to his side, Sakura dropped to her knees and pressed her fingers to his neck, her lips pressed together in a firm line as the others formed a circle around the fallen jounin.

"His pulse is there," she told them. "I... I can't be sure, but I think he passed out from chakra exhaustion." The others exchanged grim looks at the diagnosis.

"Is that bad?" Tazuna asked warily, looking between the grave genin worriedly.

"It means he used too much chakra in the fight," Sakura explained. "I read about it in my free time, and he should recover if he rests." Sasuke stared at Kakashi with narrowed eyes, seeming deep in thought as he considered something. After a moment he rose, his back straight as he turned to face their client.

"Tazuna, you're the tallest one here. Can you carry him?" The bridge builder looked at him in surprise but quickly nodded.

"Yeah, that's the least I can do." The genin stepped back as the elderly man bent down to heft Kakashi up, slinging one of his arms over his shoulder. Rising to his full height with a grunt, he turned and said, "Come on, I live this way." The genin nodded and started following him, only to freeze when Kakashi suddenly disappeared.

Kunai instantly slid into their hands as the genin leaped into a defensive formation around Tazuna, Sakura absently holding out a hand to steady the bridge builder as he nearly toppled at the sudden disappearance of Kakashi's weight. "What the hell?!" Naruto sputtered, looking around wildly in search of their sensei.

"Shit, there's more?" Sasuke hissed, tightening his grip on his kunai.

Spying a flash of movement in the trees, Naruto snapped his head in its direction only to freeze. Color drained from his face as he stared, his grip on his kunai momentarily loosening. "G-guys," he whispered, and his teammates glanced at him before following his gaze and instantly stiffened.

A man in a hooded black cloak stood atop one of the tree branches, his form blurred by the lingering mist. Shadows shrouded his features beneath the hood, making it hard to make out any details, but they could catch a glimpse of a bright crimson mask covering his face. What truly worried them though was the sight of Kakashi slung over his shoulder, his form limp and unmoving.

Their breaths caught in their throats as they stared at him, their faces darkening with identical displays of horror and apprehension. "K-K-Kakashi-sensei," Sakura whispered, the name coming out as a shaky breath that trembled as much as her body. The stranger waved his free hand in an animated wave, his head tilting to the side slightly.

"Hello there," he greeted in a surprisingly chipper tone, and Naruto could almost _hear_ the smile under the red mask. "Sorry to intrude. I just need to borrow your sensei for a bit."

 _What?_ The trio grew even tenser at his words, their eyes widening. This time, Naruto recovered first, and when he did he felt unbridled rage. Roaring furiously, he launched himself at the man and wound his arm back.

"Let him go, you bastard!" he snarled, flinging the kunai with his full strength. Before it could hit him though the man disappeared—no, "disappear" sounded too normal. He seemed to _blink_ out of existence, his form not even flickering as he vanished. Naruto stumbled in shock at the sheer abruptness of it and lost his balance, crashing into the ground with an 'oof'.

"Tsk, tsk, Naruto," scolded a voice from somewhere within the trees, its location impossible to pinpoint as it seemed to echo around the trio. "Don't rush unknown opponents head-on. That's, like, Ninja Strategy 101. Kakashi really needs to work on his teaching, huh?" The insult rankled Naruto's nerves, his eyes flashing dangerously as he gritted his teeth.

"Hey! Don't even think about badmouthing him! Kakashi-sensei might be lazy and perverted and super-late all the time, but he's an awesome ninja!"

"Wow, that is such a glowing review," Sakura quipped sarcastically, though she still remained tense and rigid. Her hands shook as she clutched her kunai, her eyes darting around the clearing in search of the enemy. Sasuke seemed just as tense and on edge, but neither of them broke away from Tazuna's side.

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded lowly. The man's thoughtful hum seemed to echo around them.

"Well, a lot of things, I guess. But right now? I just need to borrow your sensei. Just for a little bit, that's all. I'm sure I'll be done before Zabuza-san wakes up."

The last sentence struck the three genin like an electric bolt, their postures going rigid as their breaths caught in their throats. What...?

"Wakes up?" Surprisingly Tazuna was the one to break the stunned silence, his jaw dropping in horror as his shoulders rose in apprehension. "You mean that guy's still alive!?"

" _Hell no!_ " Naruto exploded, springing to his feet and whirling around in search of the enemy. "Don't lie to us! There's no way he's alive, you're just trying to throw us off!"

"Yeah!" Sakura agreed, nodding with firm conviction as she collected her nerves. "We saw it happen, the Hunter-nin hit him with a senbon right in the back of—" She abruptly cut off with a gasp, her eyes widening as she staggered back. "The... the neck..." Her voice tapered off at the end, prompting her teammates to shoot her worried looks. The kunoichi had a stunned look on her face, her eyes wide as she stared vacantly into the distance.

"Sakura?" Naruto ventured, unsettled by the strange look on her face. Even Sasuke seemed a bit unnerved by it, concern actually flickering in his face briefly before quickly schooling it back into that stoic scowl he always wore.

"Sakura, what's going on?" he questioned, turning his gaze back to the surroundings. Sakura audibly swallowed next to him, taking a deep, shuddery breath as she shook her head.

"There—there aren't any vital points in the neck that could be lethal if targeted by senbon. Kunai and shuriken, of course, but... Senbon are too precise, they're only lethal if they hit specific vital points." Gulping loudly, she inhaled sharply and declared, "That hunter-nin—he wasn't real. He must be working with Zabuza. Which means Zabuza—he's _alive_."

She whispered the last word, unable to bring herself to say it any louder, yet it seemed to ring through the clearing all the same. Naruto and Sasuke both froze, their eyes widening with disbelief. Laughter began to echo around them once more, and a black form materialized several meters away from them.

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" the stranger declared, awkwardly shifting Kakashi's weight on his shoulder so he could applaud in approval. "Wow, really weird to clap with a guy on your—woop!" He stepped to the side as a flurry of kunai and shuriken surged past him, shaking his head with a sigh. " _Rude._ "

"You're kidnapping our sensei and you're calling us _rude_!?" Naruto stammered in disbelief, and the man shrugged.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I don't interrupt you when you talk, do I? Anyways, more importantly, yes, Zabuza is alive, but he'll be paralyzed from the neck down for a bit. I estimate it'll take him about, oh, one, two weeks, to recover?" Shrugging lazily, he continued blithely, "I think I'll be done with Kakashi by then, but you should probably get to training, just in case."

"What the hell do you want with Kakashi?" Sasuke growled, but he didn't move to attack him, still remaining close to Tazuna. "Where are you taking him?"

"That's for me to know, and you to find out. He'll thank me for it later, trust me. Or don't, since ninja shouldn't trust masked strangers that easily. Anyways, on that note, I should _really_ get going. The sooner I get started, the sooner I can get him back to you guys. So sorry again for the interruption. Later!"

The man raised his hand to his forehead in a mockery of a salute and blinked out of existence once more, leaving the trio of genin staring at the space he just occupied in shock. Slowly processing what just happened, Naruto felt his knees give way as he fell to the ground, barely registering a shaken whispered "no" from Sakura and an angry hiss of frustration from Sasuke.

Inside his head he could hear the Kyuubi's mocking laughter thunder loudly, its mouth twisting into a taunting smirk.

" ** _Like I said,_** " it sneered, crimson eyes glimmering with sadistic glee. " ** _Useless._** " Naruto ground his teeth and roared in frustration, his head tilting back as he screamed to the heavens.

" _DAMMIIIIIITT!_ "

* * *

 **A/N: And so canon begins shattering.** Bet none of you saw that coming either, did you? **  
**


	18. Chapter 17: Echoes of Akari (II)

Chapter 17

* * *

 _"I remember there was a director who wrote movies starring strong female characters. One day in an interview someone asked him why he kept writing strong female characters, and he said something along the lines of, "Because people still ask that question."  
_

 _Me? I just think that a strong female character is way more interesting than a weak badly-written girl who's just_ _ _slapped in to appeal to female demographics_."_

* * *

 _Once upon a time, a little pink-haired girl visited a used book store and found a book that had no right to be there._

Less than three hours had passed since Team Seven set foot on the shores of the Land of Wave, and already everything had gone to hell.

Huddled around a low table in Tazuna's house, the three genin stared blankly at the cups of tea provided by their client's daughter, any ghosts of an appetite or thirst absent in the face of the dilemma they now faced.

Hatake Kakashi, the famed Copy-Ninja of Konoha, their Jounin Sensei, had been captured by an unknown enemy. Meanwhile a _known_ threat with an A-rank danger level lurked somewhere unknown biding his time until he could recover, alongside a _third_ threat of unknown capability. If their sensei's kidnapper could be trusted, they had at least one week before the swordsman would attempt to strike again.

One week. Seven days to train and get to a level where they might be able to fend off at _least_ two dangerous enemies, potentially three.

Without a jounin sensei to guide them and offer protection, the sheer magnitude of the endeavor seemed insurmountable. Even Naruto, who never wavered and always spouted his motto of never giving up, seemed disheartened by the crisis facing them. His usually radiant smile had been replaced by a melancholic frown, his bright eyes dull and worried as he stared at his cup. Across from him the ever-proud Sasuke seemed equally daunted by the challenge, his normally stoic frown even broodier than usual.

Chewing her lower lip as she studied her teammates, Haruno Sakura slowly looked at her now-cold cup of tea, staring listlessly at her reflection in the greenish liquid. Muggy-looking spring green eyes stared up at her full of worry and concern, creases around her eyes and mouth formed by the heaviness of the frown she wore.

Her fingers curled around the cup as her eyelids slid shut, taking a deep breath and trying to calm the heavy dread building in her chest.

 _Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Haruno Sakura who was a useless piece of garbage._

Harsh as it sounded, Sakura felt no shame in admitting that during her earliest years in the academy she had let her obsession with Sasuke dominate her life. Every day she used to wake up with thoughts of what kind of face Sasuke might be making when she got the academy. She stole glances at the small Uchiha throughout class, her attention focused on him so heavily that in retrospect it surprised her that she managed to keep her grades high.

Even now she still yearned for his affection and approval, but compared to the little six year old girl she had once been, she had matured a lot. After all, her life didn't revolve around him the way it used to.

It had been Uchiha Akari who had created the first ripple of change.

" _You know, if you have the Uchiha name, you need to be more than just a pretty face. We Uchiha are warriors, the best of the best. Even civilian Uchiha women are badass, don't you think?_ "

Those taunting words had sparked a fire in Sakura, her eyes boring a hole into the back of the smug Uchiha girl's head as she skipped away from Sasuke-kun to join a quiet little boy at the edge of the training ground. While some girls around her began grumbling threats about not letting the stuck-up girl outdo them, Sakura felt her thoughts take a different direction, Akari's words playing over in her head.

Uchiha women were strong. Sasuke-kun even confirmed it. So if Sakura wanted to marry him, she needed to become strong too.

It had been the shallowest of motivations, but it had been motivation nonetheless. It had spurred Sakura to start working even harder, spending her free time training and researching. Strength had two parts to it. Physical conditioning would be considered the most obvious one, but arguably more important would be one's mental ability. Sakura knew that a single wily shinobi could take down ten stronger opponents with a single well-thought-out plan.

Sakura knew she lacked the physical strength of her male classmates, but she also knew she had more brains than the average person. Brains didn't always beat brawn, but it could still cripple them. With that thought in mind, she decided to throw herself into intellectual pursuits, scouring the library and bookstores for any useful books she could find: Tactics, history, strategy, chakra theory, political discourses...

If she found a book that seemed like it could give her even a slight edge as a shinobi, she snapped it up and devoured it whole, and then resumed her search anew.

It had been in that pursuit that she found herself inside a used bookstore at the age of six. Her meager allowance left her with very limited options, so she chose to root through a bin full of worn, damaged books marked at discount prices to maximize her potential material. A single book caught her eye, the black cover worn and unmarked, and curiosity prompted her to fish it out.

 _Holding the tattered volume in her small hands, the little pink-haired girl slowly opened the cover and found a photo of an unfamiliar man glowering at her, his yellow serpentine eyes cold and unforgiving and sending chills down her spine._

Bingo books had no place in civilian bookstores. Even old, outdated ones would normally be disposed before reaching the shelves, because no civilian had any need to know what powerful ninja might roam the world. Yet somehow one old bingo book had slipped through the cracks, and destiny had seen fit for it to fall into the hands of one six-year-old Haruno Sakura.

Flipping through the pages, she stopped when she found a photo of a woman with dark green hair pulled into a bun, her face framed by thick strands of golden-orange bangs and a hitai-ate engraved with a stylized hourglass on it. Her brown eyes held a quiet, firm resolve that gave her pause, seeming to draw Sakura's gaze to them with an almost hypnotic quality.

" _Pakura of the Scorch Release_ ," she'd mouthed silently as she read the text next to her name. The entry contained a lot of kanji she didn't know yet, but she began reading what parts she _could_ understand with a growing sense of wonder.

In that quiet, unassuming moment, standing in a quiet bookstore with an outdated bingo book, Sakura's life changed forever. She had found herself on a new path to become stronger—not just to earn the right to marry Sasuke, but for her own sake. Vain as it might sound she wanted to one day open a bingo book and find her own face staring back, her green eyes filled with the same quiet confidence Pakura exuded and striking fear into enemy ninja even as her eyes stared lifelessly from a printed page.

As the years passed the dream began to evolve, taking on a solid form as she grew and learned her strengths. Idly fantasizing would not satisfy her. She needed to make it a reality, and for that she began gradually plotting her ascension, researching the various fields available to shinobi and the various topics.

 _Seated among her new team and facing her new teacher, Sakura sucked in a deep breath as she began. "My name is Haruno Sakura," she started. "I like anmitsu and..." Her gaze flickered to Sasuke, and her face flushed before she quickly snapped her gaze away. "Um, I dislike spicy foods. My hobbies are..." Another glance, and a small squeak caught in her throat, forcing her to swallow it back. "R-reading about history and biographies famous kunoichi. My dream is..."_

 _Visions of white dresses and falling petals flashed through her mind, her face turning bright red and a small squeal slipping through. Shaking her head violently, she pushed away the fantasies and raised her head to stare at her new teacher, her eyes sparking with determination. "My dream is to become an ANBU captain, and be acknowledged by the world as an A-rank threat!"_

Her words on that first day echoed in her mind as she sat in the room in the Land of Waves, her strong determination from that moment resurfacing and reaffirming itself in her mind. Pink eyelashes parted to reveal resolute green eyes, a powerful conviction blazing within them as she looked at her despondent teammates.

' _ANBU captains do not let unexpected setbacks discourage them!'_ her inner-self declared, her voice steady and determined. _'They keep their cool and push forward!'_

"We need a plan," Sakura proclaimed aloud, breaking the silence that had consumed them. Naruto and Sasuke raised their heads to look at her in surprise, the unwavering confidence in her voice catching them off-guard.

"We know that!" Sasuke snapped, shooting her a cold glare. "We're not stupid, Sakura!" His harsh tone made her flinch, the love-struck six-year-old girl taking hold of her as she reflexively wilted at her crush's disapproval.

"Oi, Sasuke, don't be so mean to Sakura-chan!" Naruto snapped, slamming his hands on the table. The teacups rattled and the tea sloshed around before spilling onto the wood, drops of amber and orange quickly pooling and spreading. "Apologize right now, bastard!"

"Don't tell me what to do, dead last!" Sasuke bit back, making Naruto growl in anger.

"What did you just—"

" _Enough!_ " Sakura's cold voice made the boys freeze, whirling their heads to look at her in surprise. Her hands trembled on her lap out of their sight and she could feel tears threatening to prick the corners of her eyes, but she fought them back and tried to keep her voice as smooth and calm as possible, staring her teammates dead in the eye. "We're all stressed and on edge right now, but fighting won't help. We need to calm down and think of a plan."

A long moment of silence passed and she wondered if they'd just ignore her, but to her eternal relief both boys silently sunk back into their seats. She resisted the urge to breathe a small sigh of relief. Right now she honestly wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry in frustration and fear, but she knew that she had to stay strong. For all their strengths, Naruto and Sasuke were both too hot-headed to get a handle on the situation, so it would be up to Sakura to keep her cool and help guide their team.

Taking a few moments to compose herself, she swallowed the growing lump in her throat before speaking. "Let's think back for a second," she murmured. "When that guy took Kakashi-sensei, he kept saying he was just 'borrowing' Kakashi-sensei and that he would give him back to us."

"So what, you think he'll just release Kakashi?" Sasuke grumbled, shooting her a sour look. Even Naruto squinted at her, making her sigh and cross her arms, her head tipping back to gaze at the ceiling.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but I _do_ know that guy had a lot of opportunities to kill us. You saw how fast he moved, it was like he teleported. We didn't even _see_ him grab Kakashi. If he wanted to, he could have just taken him and left us there without ever showing himself, and we'd never know what happened."

Lowering her gaze to face her teammates, she held up a single finger and continued, "But instead, he hung around long enough for us to see him, and _then_ he warned us Zabuza was still alive. Even if we weren't his targets, he didn't have to tell us that. Furthermore, he never showed any hostility to us, and he even insisted Kakashi would thank him."

"So what? Do you think he's actually on our side or something?" Naruto scratched his head as he mulled over it, his confusion perfectly justifiable.

"He kidnapped Kakashi," Sasuke countered flatly. "He's an enemy."

"I'm not saying he isn't," Sakura interjected, picking her words carefully. "We should definitely treat him with the assumption he's an enemy. But I get the feeling it's a _lot_ more complicated than it seems. There's too many inconsistencies in his behavior, and we don't have enough information to figure out anything solid about his motivations. For now though, we can at _least_ assume he won't kill Kakashi-sensei."

"What makes you so sure about that?" Naruto challenged, frowning at her. "For all we know, Kakashi-sensei could be dead right— _hey!_ " He yelled as Sasuke smacked the back of his head, shooting the Uchiha an annoyed glare.

"Use your brain for once, dobe," Sasuke grumbled, offering his teammate a cold look. "If that guy wanted to kill Kakashi, he would've done it back there instead of kidnapping him."

"Then why take him at all?"

"We don't know," Sakura interrupted before they could start arguing again. "Like I said, we don't have enough information to make any gueses. For now though, we just have to trust that he needs Kakashi-sensei alive, and hope he won't kill him whenever he accomplishes his motive." Her answer didn't seem to satisfy Naruto but he didn't protest, pressing his lips together tightly. Sasuke, meanwhile, turned to regard her coolly, a calculating gleam in his narrowed eyes.

"So what do you think we should do, then?" he asked, and the pinkette frowned, quickly averting her gaze to the table. Her hands balled even tighter on her lap as her heart began fluttering anxiously, nerves suddenly overwhelming her.

"I... I think we should focus on guarding Tazuna, and figure out a strategy to hold off Zabuza long enough for him to finish building the bridge."

"WHAT!" Naruto leaped to his feet and slammed his hands on the table, and this time the teacups fell over. "What are you even saying! We can't just leave Kakashi-sensei!"

"But we can't rescue him either!" Sakura countered, trying to keep her emotions in check as she met his glare. "Naruto, let's say we find him. What then? That guy moved too fast for us to follow, and there's no way speed is all he has going for him. Chances are he's stronger than Zabuza, and you know how well _that_ went!"

She couldn't help the bitter note that clung to the last part, making both of her teammates flinch and frown. Scowling, Sakura averted her eyes and squeezed them shut, counting backwards in her head from ten. _Calm down, Sakura. ANBU captains can't lose their cool._ When she felt sufficiently calm she resumed speaking, letting pure logic override any doubts and uncertainties she might feel.

"If Tazuna can finish the bridge, we can at least send someone to Konoha to request backup. As it stands, we're no match for Zabuza or the guy who kidnapped Kakashi-sensei, and there's still that fake hunter-nin, too. We need backup, and unless you guys are hiding something our only option is to deliver the message personally. There's no way we can sneak onto the mainland with Gato monitoring all the boats, so our best bet is to help Tazuna finish the bridge as soon as possible."

Having laid out her points she fell silent and opened her eyes, looking at her teammates hesitantly. Naruto stared at her in mild shock but Sasuke seemed to be contemplating her words carefully, his eyes narrowed. "We'd still have to take on Zabuza to build the bridge," he pointed out, and her breath hitched as she nodded.

"I know, but... Well, maybe we can speed it up...?" As she spoke her gaze flitted uncertainly towards Naruto, and Sasuke followed it with a curious look before comprehension suddenly dawned on him.

"You're kidding," he deadpanned, his face turning sour like he'd just sucked a lemon.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Sakura muttered, looking just as averse and unenthusiastic at the prospect. Naruto just looked at them in confusion, his eyebrows scrunching up as he flicked between them.

"What? Why are you guy looking at me like that?"

"She wants you to help build the bridge," Sasuke replied flatly, and Naruto stared at him blankly before the words processed.

"WHAT?! Sakura-chan, what the hell are you thinking?! I mean I'm not dumb or anything, but—I don't know _anything_ about bridges!"

"Tazuna probably has a lot of books," Sakura pointed out blandly. "I mean, he kinda does it for a living, so. Yeah." Naruto physically shuddered at the prospect of reading, grimacing in disgust.

"Why me though?" he mumbled weakly.

"You can make shadow clones," Sasuke interjected. "A _lot_ of them. Tazuna already said he's lost a lot of workers because people are too scared to risk Gatou's wrath. If you could supply the labor, even if it's just heavy lifting, he'd be able to finish faster."

"Oh... Right." Naruto grunted sheepishly at the thought, able to see the reasoning. Sensing that Naruto wouldn't complain anymore Sasuke huffed quietly, reclining on the cushion as he folded his arms with a small frown.

"Even if the dobe helps out, we'll have a week at a minimum before Zabuza shows up again. That's not much time. We should spend the time training, too. In case Kakashi doesn't come back by then."

The reminder of their teacher's predicament made the others frown, quickly looking to the table with grave faces. Leaving Kakashi at an enemy's mercy made Sakura's stomach churn, but right now they didn't have any other choice. As she'd just said, right now their best bet would be to finish the bridge as fast as possible so they could send someone to get backup. Hopefully by completing the bridge, the hit on Tazuna would also be called off.

"Okay, I'm all for training, but what would we do?" Naruto pressed, breaking the silence. "I mean, we _could_ go over the stuff we already know and get it all locked down, but you guys saw Kakashi-sensei fighting that guy. We don't have any jutsu that could match those freaky dragons! Except maybe the teme's fireball," he added as an afterthought. "But water beats fire, so..."

Sasuke just scoffed and looked away, while Sakura tapped her chin in thought. Eyes wandering to the spilled tea, she quickly reached into her backpack to retrieve a small towel and wipe up the puddles, and once the table had been cleared she pulled out a notebook. Naruto and Sasuke turned to regard her curiously as she hunched over it with a pen, leaning forward to watch while she began writing.

"Maybe we can figure out a strategy using what we know," she murmured as she drew three vertical lines to divide the page into three columns. "We know he'll probably attack Tazuna at the bridge, and we have a week to prepare. We won't be on the spot like last time, so we should use that to our advantage and plan."

Even as she spoke she labeled each column with one of their names. Underneath Naruto's name she wrote "Shadow Clones," "High Stamina" and "Large chakra reserves". Under Sasuke she wrote "Fireball jutsu," "Taijutsu" and "Shurikenjutsu." When she reached her own name she hesitated, thinking over her own strengths before scribbling "Intelligence," "Marksmanship" and "Chakra Control."

"Any additions?" she asked, turning the notebook to face them. Gazing at the page thoughtfully, after a moment Sasuke nodded.

"I'm pretty fast at the substitution. That might help."

"I'm pretty good at pranks," Naruto offered, and Sakura groaned.

"Naruto, I meant something _useful_ ," she muttered, shooting him an disapproving frown that made him flinch. However, Sasuke didn't immediately scold him or call him an idiot, instead actually looking thoughtful as he considered this.

"No, that actually might help here," he murmured, catching both of his teammates by surprise.

"Wait, are you actually serious, or are you just messing with me?" Naruto asked suspiciously, earning a dry look from the Uchiha.

"I'm not going to joke around in a situation like this. I've seen some of the stuff you can do, and if we tweak some of your pranks, we might be able to use it to our advantage. Like that time you rigged paint bombs..."

As the trio began brainstorming aloud, the earlier despair and apprehension that had consumed them gradually faded, replaced by a hesitant yet firm resolve. Team Seven might currently face some of the worst circumstances imaginable, but they wouldn't let it get them down. After all, they had a future Hokage, an ANBU captain in the making and a righteous avenger among their ranks. Compared to those goals, this mission would be little more than a speed bump.

As long as even a sliver of a chance for success dangled in their sight, they would not give up. They would reach for it and pursue it until their dying breaths.

 _Once upon a time, a little pink-haired girl got inspired by a little brown-haired girl to become stronger. Then one day she found a book that should have never touched her hands, and found her own reason to become better._

* * *

 **(A/N:** Hey guys! So I posted this chapter a day earlier than planned for a reason. I'm currently writing the Chuunin Exams arc, and thanks to the ripples from the twins (and also the Wave arc), it will actually involve some OCs. Since they don't play a major role and are probably only going to appear once, I thought I'd ask you guys to suggest some names for them! Don't suggest a full-fledged OC. They will likely appear for only a couple paragraphs _at most_ , so I literally only need names for them.

I just think it'd be fun to give the readers a chance to get involved. That, and if I try to think of a name myself, I will inevitably start over-developing them to make their name match/fit their appearance or abilities, and ultimately waste an hour tweaking their super-brief cameo when I could just write more. So, yeah.

Thanks for all your feedback so far! I hope you guys continue to enjoy the Wave arc as much as I do!)


	19. Chapter 18: Change the Future

Chapter 18

* * *

 _"Sometimes to change the future, you need to change the past first."_

* * *

"Dang it Bakakashi, just wait until I get the Sharingan! Then I'll be one hundred times better than you!"

Kakashi resisted the urge to sigh as his idiotic teammate slammed a hand on the table and pointed at him, bits of half-chewed noodles flying from his mouth as he ranted angrily. Next to them Rin's face contorted in disgust, quickly snatching her plate off the table before any could fall into her food.

"Obito, stop that! You're spitting crumbs everywhere!" Startled by her admonishment, the Uchiha sunk into his seat with a flurry of frantic apologies, making Kakashi roll his eyes. Team dinners had become a weekly tradition for Team Seven, but for the life of him the young Chuunin couldn't see why Minato-sensei insisted on it. They almost always devolved into arguing, especially when Obito's turn to host rolled around.

"The yakisoba is amazing," Minato-sensei complimented, ignoring the chaotic scene for the most part. "I feel like I could eat all day."

As if summoned by his words Uchiha Ryoko appeared at the table with a laugh holding a large, steaming pot. "Glad to hear someone appreciates my cooking," she commented as she set it on the table, using a wooden spoon to dole out another clump of noodles onto a pleased-looking Minato's plate. "Ryuusuke never compliments me anymore. He didn't even say thank you for the bento I made this morning for his mission."

"Then your husband is an idiot," Minato declared flatly, but he had a giant grin on his face that countered the serious tone of his voice, and he eagerly dug in. Dark eyes twinkling with amusement, Ryoko turned to look at Kakashi.

"How about you? Any seconds?" The stoic boy shook his head in silent refusal, but Rin and Obito happily accepted the offer.

Perhaps the only bearable detail of Obito's turns hosting the team dinners was the fact he usually had it at his cousin Ryoko's house. While she had retired due to an unfortunate but understandable mental breakdown, Uchiha Ryoko had not abandoned the shinobi lifestyle entirely and instead focused her energies into more academic pursuits. She had become the Uchiha clan's resident ophthalmologist in the process, using her own Sharingan and her intensive research into their doujutsu's mechanics to aid her relatives' eyes.

Her knowledge base included far more than just the Sharingan though. Usually she and Minato-sensei would engage in conversations about chakra theory or fuinjutsu so complex and technical Kakashi couldn't understand half the terms they used. Despite that he still found it far more interesting and useful than his teammates' inane chattering, and often preferred to listen in while ignoring them.

Today they wouldn't get a chance to talk about any of that though, because Obito turned to look at his older cousin with a wild gleam in his eye. "Ryoko-baa-san! You're, like, the leading expert in the Sharingan! When I activate it I'll be super badass, won't I?"

"Maybe," she replied, sitting across from him with her own plate of yakisoba. "It depends on how you use it, though. In the end the Sharingan is a tool. A nifty one that's built into our bodies and gives us an almost unfair advantage, but a tool nonetheless. It's still prone to flaws and user error, just like any other tool. Which is great for me," she added with a cheeky grin. "Keeps me in business."

"Ryoko-san," Rin grumbled, shooting her a reproachful look. As a medical ninja, she did not approve of other medical ninja treating the field like a business, even unofficial super-specialized ones like Ryoko.

"It's true though," Ryoko laughed, eating a quick bite of noodles before continuing. "People don't take care of their eyes properly, and in a clan full of arrogant idiots like the Uchiha they're too proud to admit there's anything wrong to an outsider. I swear, when word got out that I was just _thinking_ of accepting patients, almost half the clan showed up in the span of a week."

"Well, clans are very protective of their secrets, and the mechanics of the Sharingan is a pretty big one," Minato commented reasonably, and Ryoko hummed in agreement as she began eating. Chewing thoughtfully, Obito seemed to consider something before swallowing and turning to her.

"When did you activate the Sharingan?" The question visibly took the woman by surprise, pausing in the middle of chewing. She swallowed and her lips ghosted into a small smile, her eyes growing distant.

"I was about eleven," she mused. "Or, twelve, maybe?" She glanced to Minato for confirmation, and the blond slurped up the end of a noodle so he could answer.

"Yeah, it happened when we were eleven," he confirmed, and Obito and Rin glanced at him in surprise.

"Sensei, you were there?" Rin asked.

"So were Kushina, Mikoto, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Jiraiya-sensei," their teacher replied with a sheepish grin. Obito seemed a bit awestruck by the lineup of witnesses, his eyes widening.

"Wow, you guys must have been in the middle of a _huge_ battle for all those people to be there! I bet you kicked butt and turned the tides all on your own!" Kakashi noticed the two adults in the room minutely stiffen at the comment and their eyes flit towards each other, some unspoken conversation passing between them.

"We weren't on a battlefield," Ryoko corrected, and Obito stared at her in surprise.

"Wha...? But, I thought the Sharingan usually activates in battle!"

"I kinda got the gist of that from everyone's reactions afterwards," Minato agreed with a sheepish smile, "But Ryoko activated hers here in Konoha, right in the middle of the street."

"What happened?" Rin asked, hesitating. "Did... did you get attacked?" Ryoko smiled faintly at the question, a touch of melancholy flickering in her eyes.

"No. My cat died." At this point the two genin gaped at her in utter confusion, and even Kakashi turned his attention to the exchange with mild curiosity.

"You activated it because of a cat?" he questioned bluntly, ignoring the irritated looks his teammates sent him. "How does the Sharingan even work?"

Before she could reply Minato quickly spoke up, offering him a pacifying and slightly scolding smile. "Ah, hold on, Kakashi. I get why you're curious, but I'm pretty sure that's a clan secret, so..."

"No, it's fine," Ryoko interrupted. Minato whipped his head to look at her in surprise and the Uchiha woman smiled softly as her gaze slid to Obito, making him stiffen. "Since you work with an Uchiha, it's better you all understand how it works so you can support Obito when he activates it."

"Support me?" Obito parroted, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "But, why would I need support? The Sharingan makes us strong, right? If anything, _I'd_ be supporting _them_!" Ryoko smiled sadly, shaking her head.

"While the Sharingan does give you power, it comes at a price. There's a lot of medical terminology involved on the exact mechanics, but to put it simply, the Sharingan is directly connected to our emotional states. That's the reason most people activate it on missions, fighting for your life leads to some pretty powerful emotions."

"And yet a cat caused you to activate it?" Kakashi repeated his earlier question, ignoring Rin's scolding hiss and Obito's scandalized glare. Ryoko seemed unperturbed though, her smile never fading as she looked at her food with a wistful gleam in her eyes.

"His name was Shiro. He was almost completely white, but he had a single patch of black on his tail. I found him on the streets as a kitten next to his mother's corpse and nursed him until he could survive on his own. He never really lived at my house, he was more of a stray and wandered the village, but I'd say he believed he owned me. Whenever I'd see him in town he'd walk over to me and rub against my legs, and I'd break down and buy him a snack at the nearest cafe."

Her voice carried a warm note full of fondness that made Kakashi's teammates soften, looking at her with rapt attention and faintly sad eyes. "One day, a few months after I graduated, I was out shopping with Kushina and Mikoto when we heard this horrible cry from an alley. We looked inside and saw some boys from our class who didn't pass huddled around something red and white, beating it with sticks. And when I looked closer and saw this little tail with a black spot, well..."

She trailed off, and a somber silence fell over the table. Rin stared at her with tears in her eyes while Obito just looked at his dinner with a frown, and Minato-sensei frowned at her worriedly before sighing. "I was eating lunch with Jiraiya-sensei at a stand about two blocks away when we heard this unearthly screech. We found Kushina and Mikoto holding back Ryoko while she clawed at our old classmates and screamed threats. Her eyes were glowing red, and, well, I never felt so scared in my life."

Remembering the moment, Ryoko's smile grew a bit more pleasant and cheerful as she bobbed her head. "Oh, yes," she chirped. "Those boys were so scared, they actually wet their pants. They lived all the way across town, so they had to walk home with this huge stain on their crotches for everyone to see."

The happy tone she used made Rin and Obito shiver, scooting away slightly. Kakashi however remained silent, his thoughts running wild as he eyed his half-finished yakisoba. Lazily pushing the noodles around the plate, he watched as the fried vegetable and pork bits tumbled into each other and idly noted they almost seemed to resemble the shape of a cat.

"You could have come to me, you know," Ryoko suddenly said. Kakashi stiffened and the cat on his plate turned back into random vegetables and pork, and he slowly raised his head to look at her.

She gazed at him with a neutral expression on her face as his team sat frozen in time, their eyes glassy and their bodies little more than still snapshots caught amidst animated gestures. Tilting her head placidly at him, Ryoko's black eyes seemed to bore into Kakashi and yet he couldn't glimpse any thoughts from her features, even with Obito's gifted Sharingan spinning wildly in his left eye socket and highlighting the most minute details in her expression.

"When Obito died, you could have visited," she continued, her voice blank and flat. "I would have looked at it. I would have helped you. I spent a lot of time researching transplants, I had a pretty good idea on how to help you."

Kakashi's jaw clenched as he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands rising to his head as he sucked in a sharp breath with a hiss. Peeking open his eye— _his_ eye, the right one, the one he'd been born with—he found himself staring into pinpricks of black set against pear-colored irises.

The gray cat stared at him silently as it sat on his desk, its eyes blank and unjudging as he clutched the note with trembling hands. Gibberish characters decorated the page yet his mind translated the jumbled mess easily, the scrawled message so familiar he'd ingrain it into his memory even without the aid of the Sharingan.

" _I was waiting for you to come to me, Kakashi,_ " Ryoko's elegant handwriting (it should be elegant and smooth, not scratchy and scribbly like right now) said. " _The clan would not let me go to you and offer help unless you asked first, but I honestly didn't care what this clan thought. I wanted_ you _to be the one to take the first step, to gather the courage to push past your insecurities and seek help on your own. I had hoped that your friendship with Akari would help give you that push, but sadly, it never did._ "

He stood in a cemetery now, towering over a small stone bearing the name of an equally small body buried beneath it. The letter burned in his hands, his vision stinging with tears as he read it next to the grave of the author's victim. Indignation and grief churned violently and painfully in his chest at the injustice of it all, at the cruelty of the world that took this tiny ball of light and warmth, so young and innocent, and slaughtered it mercilessly.

" _I am sorry, Kakashi. I know I will cause you more pain and sadness, but I have made my mind. The Uchiha clan has been on a steady downward spiral for years, and I know there is nothing left I can do to save it. I have watched my kinsmen seal our future in blood and hatred, and I am too tired to try to fight it any longer. As a mother I cannot allow my children to suffer for their arrogance, and the only way I can do that now is to take their suffering into my own hands._ "

Red chakra bubbled around an eight-year-old Naruto even as wooden pillars sprouted from the ground to wrap him in a restrictive embrace, tears streaming down his face as he screamed an agonized wail that resonated with Kakashi. All the pent-up frustration and despair from the past four months came rushing to the forefront of his mind and his head began spinning, a hand flying to his borrowed eye as he heard his comrades call to him in panic.

Crimson consumed into his vision and faded into a bloody void as he fell to his knees, releasing the heartbroken scream that had been building up ever since that horrible night in the house once full of fond memories of dinners with his team.

" _I am so, so sorry, Kakashi. I do not deserve any forgiveness. I can only apologize for having to take another precious person from you._ "

oOoOo

Kakashi's eyes snapped open, his body jerking with a soundless gasp. Listening to his heart pound erratically in his chest, he swallowed the dryness in his mouth and slowly looked around, cataloguing his surroundings.

Peach-painted walls surrounded him adorned with paintings of sparkling ocean views, giving the small room an illusion of space and openness despite a lack of windows. A wooden desk pushed against the wall to his left with a comfortably worn chair next it, several books stacked atop the surface with a bright lamp glowing on the left side. Salty sea air wafted through the open doorway, mingling with savory, meaty aromas that made his mouth water and his stomach clench in longing for food.

All in all, Kakashi would almost call the room cozy if not for the leather cuffs restraining his ankles and wrists to a metal table.

Raising his head to study his restraints, he gave several tentative pulls and scowled at the resistance. Absolutely no slack, his limbs might as well be bolted down directly to the table. He rolled his head to the side to peer at the table holding him, and noted black marks etched into the steel forming an outline around his form. Kakashi couldn't recognize the full extent of the sprawling seal, but he recognized enough of the characters to surmise it had the purpose of suppressing his chakra, making him internally curse.

First he passed out from chakra exhaustion, and then he woke up captive to someone reasonably well-versed in fuinjutsu. Lovely.

Tentative sniffs at the air revealed no traces of the three scents he'd become accustomed to smelling almost daily over the past month, but Kakashi couldn't decide if his students' absence was good or bad. Good, because that likely meant they weren't captured. Bad, because they were still in hostile territory and he had a pretty strong suspicion Zabuza hadn't actually died.

Alternatively, they might be dead.

A-plus teaching there, Kakashi. _Clearly_ , the fact he considered the scenario of his students left to fend on their own against an A-rank threat as the most _favorable_ option spoke _volumes_ of his _incredible_ ability to _care_ and _protect_ three vulnerable genin.

If he died here, Minato-sensei and Kushina would murder him in the afterlife for putting their son in that position. Theoretically killing a dead person should be impossible, but impossible never stopped Uzumaki Kushina.

Footsteps drew his attention back to the present, and he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to feign unconsciousness. Better to hide his consciousness for now and try to gather some information so he could analyze the situation a bit better. Kakashi listened as his captor approached the doorway and stepped inside only to pause, a long moment of silence following.

"Oh, shit," a voice groaned, and the footsteps hurriedly fled the room. Kakashi opened his eyes with a small huff. Looks like they noticed he was faking. At this point he felt it pretty safe to assume he'd been captured by Gato, and figured the visitor to be a lackey. Seeing as he lacked the physical energy or chakra to mount an escape attempt, he just quietly resigned himself to wait for the smug businessman or a burly henchman to show up.

Instead, a man in black clothing appeared in the doorway, adjusting a red mask over his face.

Kakashi's nerves instantly stood on edge at the sight of the figure, his eye narrowing. Inky black tendrils radiated from the right eye in a mockery of a sunburst, the lines curling across the mask in a web of wavy curves that petered into nothing. It looked more artistic than intimidating, perhaps even more so since it lacked a hole for a left eye which suggested a lack of depth perception. He didn't let that fool him though.

One look at him and he knew the stranger to be a different breed than the thugs who might work for a tyrant like Gato, or even a rogue nin like Zabuza. No, this man radiated a subtle sort of power, an ever-present one that radiated even while just standing there doing nothing, the kind that couldn't be cowed and tamed by money alone.

In other words, this guy almost certainly had nothing to do with the mission. Which made him an even bigger threat because Kakashi had no idea of his motivations.

"Sorry about that," the masked stranger said, the same voice he'd heard curse earlier. "I did _not_ expect you to wake up so fast. Good thing you were playing dead, I didn't have my mask on." His voice carried a light and almost playful note, as if he were speaking to an old friend.

Too bad Kakashi's friends were dead.

"Who are you?" the captive jounin demanded. "What do you want?" _Where are we? What happened to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura?_ He shoved down the litany of other questions he desperately wanted to ask, because he knew that if he showed the man a sliver of vulnerability, a fraction of worry for his genin, the man would pounce on the weakness and use the three as tools against him. Kakashi had already failed them by getting captured, he would be _damned_ if he put them in any more danger than he already had.

"You don't recognize me?" the stranger gasped, a gloved hand fluttering over his heart as if offended. He quickly chuckled though, shaking his head with a large shrug. "Well I'm hardly surprised, since it's been a while. Kinda the point of the mask, too."

"We've met?" Kakashi hazarded, trying to gather as much information as possible.

"We worked together, actually," the man corrected, and Kakashi's eye widened a fraction before swiftly narrowing once more. A former Leaf ninja, then? But who? There had been only a handful of significant defections in Kakashi's life, and the stranger's attitude didn't seem to match Itachi and he _never_ worked with Orochimaru. That meant the man must be officially dead. Unfortunately, Kakashi's career in ANBU had left him with a large number of tragically deceased allies whose bodies had never been recovered, so he'd need some time to sort through it.

"Well, I'd apologize for offending you," he remarked carefully, "but it's a bit hard when I don't remember you."

"Whatever makes you think you offended me?" The man sounded genuinely puzzled and curious.

In response, Kakashi just rattled his wrists and ankles with a deadpan stare.

"Oh, right. That. That's more to make sure you don't hurt yourself than to be menacing or anything like that. I know you don't react well to waking up around unfamiliar people, so I didn't want to take any risks." As he spoke he walked to the desk and lifted a notebook, casually flipping through the pages. That did not bode well with Kakashi. Notebooks usually meant research, and research made him think of Orochimaru.

Suppressing the urge to shudder, he plastered on a fake smile and lightly commented, "Well, I'm awake now, and you're not apparently not a stranger, so there's no need to keep me restrained, right?" The man hummed in faint amusement, not turning to face him.

"Sorry, Kakashi, I'd love to just let you up and maybe catch up over some lunch, but I know you, and you won't cooperate willingly." That did not ease the growing pit of dread in his stomach, his heartbeat picking up in pace. Experimentation seemed more and more likely with every passing second, and he tried to hide his growing dread and keep his voice light and conversational.

"Maa, don't say that. You haven't even asked. Maybe if I knew what you wanted to do, I would cooperate."

His words gave the man pause, slowly turning to look at him. "Kakashi, I am planning to perform a medical procedure on you," he informed the Copy-Nin blandly. "Do you know what your reputation at the hospital is? Nurses specifically tell parents 'don't let your kids become another Kakashi' because you're that bad about going in for necessary medical treatment."

At this point Kakashi's heart pounded even harder, because the man basically confirmed he intended to do something to Kakashi's body. "What kind of procedure?" he asked warily, his faux lightness gone and his voice dead serious. The man just turned back to the notebook, idly flipping another page.

"Technically, I guess it's not actually _necessary_ , per se. But... it _will_ help you, I promise. If all goes well, I'll be done in a day and then you should be able to heal anywhere from two days to, oh," he paused to consult the notebook, "Five weeks."

"Two days to _five weeks_?" He didn't bother hiding his incredulity at the range.

"Look, this isn't exactly standard, okay? You're the first one to go through this, I'm kinda playing this by ear and hoping this research is accurate."

"If you are trying to convince me you're helping me, you're doing a horrible job," Kakashi muttered weakly, honestly surprised at how calm he sounded considering the amount of mental screaming and panicking going on inside his head right now. His captor huffed a small snort of amusement as he glanced back at Kakashi.

"I am, aren't I?" he mused lightly, and set down the notebook as he turned to face his prisoner fully. "Honestly, I'd love to tell you who I am. I want nothing more than to rip off this mask and say, 'hey, look, I'm actually alive! One less person to mourn, woohoo!' But right now, I can't." His voice took on a hard edge, his head dipping slightly. "It's too dangerous. I am _dead_ , Kakashi. And there are people out there who would prefer I stay that way."

Walking closer, the man stopped next to the table and sat on the edge and twisted so he leaned over Kakashi, his mask shadowed by the light behind him. Kakashi shrank back from the proximity, only able to eye him warily while every instinct screamed to run and get away. "I know you, Kakashi. You're loyal to the Hokage to a fault. The second you knew my identity, you would report it to him, and that won't do. There are people who absolutely must _not_ know I'm alive."

For a horrifying second Kakashi half-expected the man to start rubbing circles in his cheek with his thumb or something, because his voice had that sort of gentle and intimate quality to it that fit such a gesture. _Who are you? How do I know you?_ He mentally screamed the questions in a desperate bid for answers, but he didn't bother voicing them out loud. This guy just made it pretty clear he wouldn't be answering that anytime soon.

Shrugging lightly, the man straightened up a bit and turned forward, his hands splaying on the table on either side as he swung his legs. "Honestly, I _am_ happy to see you again, Kakashi. I really did miss you, you're the first friendly face I've seen in years, second if you count—well, no need to share that. I really would like nothing more than to just have lunch and chat like old times, but, well... Life's a bitch, you know?"

He slid off the table and walked back to the desk, slipping a storage scroll from his pocket and spreading it open. "I promise you right now though, I have no evil intentions. I am one hundred percent on your side." A puff of smoke appeared and revealed several vials along with a syringe, making Kakashi physically recoil. "I already finished most of the setup while you were unconscious, so I just need to put you under and put together the final touches. Hopefully I'll be able to finish by dinner, and then we can have a nice, big meal together."

He loaded one of the vials into the syringe and Kakashi flinched, giving up on any semblance of composure. "Don't do this," he pleaded, struggling against the restraints. "If we're really allies, then just let me go. I don't know what you're planning, but I can guarantee forcing a medical procedure on me won't make me trust you!"

"I know it won't. But if I tell you what I plan to do, then you'll _really_ start to fight back." Approaching him once more, he reached under the table and lifted the end of a bulky leather strap, pulling it across Kakashi's torso and buckling it to a strap on the other side. He tightened it like a belt and Kakashi's back pressed uncomfortably flat against the table, too tight to raise it any more, and the man gently pressed his palm onto Kakashi's forehead to keep his head still.

Kakashi's blood ran cold as his captor leaned over his face, and though he couldn't see anything through the black void in the eye hole he could sense that the man was looking him straight in the eye.

"Before I put you under, I'll tell you now your team is okay." His gentle words made something snap in Kakashi, stilling his frenzied struggles and ogling his captor in wide-eyed shock. "I've been keeping an eye on them, and I made sure they know about Zabuza. They got to the client's house safely last night, and they're holding up fine so far. Naruto's helping build the bridge with shadow clones while Sasuke and Sakura train and play bodyguard.

"They're good kids, Kakashi," he continued, soft and reassuring. "They have good heads on their shoulders, whatever you've been doing so far is working. Have some faith in them. If you're not recovered by the time Zabuza goes after the old man, I'll help out myself. So for now you can rest easy, okay?"

With those final words he plunged the needle into Kakashi's neck, and his world turned black.

* * *

 **This is probably one of my favorite chapters to date. I wrote it in one sitting at like 3 AM one night and I love how it turned out. This chapter reveals a lot of small details, especially the flashback/dream at the start. Writing the dynamics between Kakashi's team and Ryoko was fun, and you get a glimpse at Ryoko's history and Naruto's first encounter with Kurama. Not to mention the letter from Ryoko, which, if it's not clear, I will confirm was actually delivered _after_ the massacre. There's all kinds of delicious details hidden in the first half of the chapter, so I'm curious how much you guys will be able to pick up!**

 **And that's all _before_ we get to his captor. I love scenes like this for some reason, just the psychological stress on Kakashi's end while trying to figure out his identity and motive, the nonchalant and upbeat attitude of the super-friendly Kakashi-napper... Ah, I just love it all so much~**

 **As always, please leave a review! Reviews are honestly so encouraging to me and while I'll keep writing and posting regardless of how many reviews I get, there really is nothing more motivating than that. I'd especially love to hear any speculation you guys might have. Also, a big thanks to everyone who submitted names for the Chuunin Exam arc! I've used a bunch of suggestions and no longer need any new names, I'll credit the commenters when the time comes.**

 **Next chapter will be out Sunday! See you then!**


	20. Chapter 19: Do the Wave

Chapter 19

* * *

 _"Everyone do the wave! And then watch people mess it up! Seriously, the wave looks so weird to an outsider, can it really be done perfectly?"_

* * *

"Gaku-san, once again I must commend you on your excellent suggestion to have young Masaru and Tenten become sparring partners!"

"Ah, don't mention it, really. It was nothing..."

"Nonsense!" Gai boomed, flashing a beaming grin and a thumbs up. "You have shown such compassion in your recommendation! Not only did you think of your own student, but you also considered the development of my own team as well! Truly, Gaku-san, you are a most youthful and caring member of Konoha and we are better for having you!"

"R-right..." Tenzo smiled nervously, eying the sunbeams that radiated from Gai's beaming form. Coughing into his fist, he briefly flared his chakra in an attempt to dispel the genjutsu that must be causing that. Alas, the sunbeams remained, and his shoulders sagged slightly as he turned to look at the two genin. "Er, anyways, we should really watch right now, don't you think?"

"Indeed!" The Green Beast bobbed his head in agreement and the sunbeams faded as he turned to survey the sparring match, much to Tenzo's relief. Growing up in the cold and ruthless ANBU Root division had left him socially stunted compared to most people, and even now Gai's energy and enthusiasm could sometimes overwhelm him. How Kakashi put up with the man, he had no idea, though at this point he suspected Kakashi did so less out of his own free will and more because he had no choice.

Either you adapted to Gai's energy, or you went crazy. Tenzo saw no in between, and fully respected Tenten for maintaining her sanity after putting up with him daily. For now, he pushed away the thoughts of the jounin standing next to him in favor of watching his student fight.

Pride swelled in him as he watched Masaru swerve around a punch from Tenten and quickly slam his leg into her side, sending her flying backwards. His student had a knack for close combat he'd only been able to fully appreciate since they started the joint spars with Tenten. Most genin tended to stick to the basics taught at the academy, but Masaru had already started incorporating unorthodox moves into his taijutsu even before he graduated, showing a creativity for fighting and creating a foundation for his own unique style.

Still, as he watched Tenten regroup and launch herself at him with a flying kick, Tenzo found his gaze repeatedly trail towards Masaru's face, scrutinizing his eyes rather than his movements.

 _"Tenzo, I believe Masaru has activated the Sharingan."_

 _Tenzo stared at his former senpai in shock, his mouth suddenly dry. Swallowing, he searched for words and managed to stammer, "When?"_

 _"I'm not sure, but I suspect he activated it a while ago. I don't think he's aware of it though."_

 _"What? How? When?" Tenzo shot him a questioning look, but Kakashi seemed to ignore him in favor of signaling the bartender._

 _"Can you refill his drink?" he asked, and when Tenzo opened his mouth to protest his former commander shot him a sharp look and added, "Trust me, you'll need it." Clamping his mouth shut, Tenzo sat in obedient silence as she refilled his glass. Only when she'd bustled away again did Kakashi resume. "Ryoko claimed the Sharingan activates in response to severe emotional distress. That's why most activate it during life or death situations on the field. So, going by that logic..."_

 _He trailed off and offered his companion a pointed look, letting him put the pieces together himself. Tenzo didn't fail to disappoint, his eyes widening in comprehension as he sucked in a sharp breath._

 _"The massacre," he whispered, and suddenly felt very grateful Kakashi had the foresight to order a refill. After downing a good chunk of the burning liquid, he breathed a small sigh and frown, massaging his chin. "I don't get it though. Going by that logic, Sasuke should have activated it too, right?"_

 _"Probably," Kakashi agreed. "If he did, he must have repressed the memory though, or he would have tried to activate it before now. It makes sense, since Itachi psychologically tormented him. Masaru, however, was_ physically _tortured, and he was unconscious due to his injuries rather than psychological distress, so it's plausible his memory would be more intact than Sasuke. Twisted as it sounds, it also makes more sense than Itachi sparing him due to a singular surge of pity in the middle of a massacre."_

 _His words made Tenzo grimace, and this time he signaled the bartender himself. "Just leave the bottle," he requested glumly, and she raised an eyebrow but acquiesced. Sighing, he downed the remainder of his current drink and filled the glass once more. "So to make sure we're on the same page, you think Itachi spared Masaru because Masaru activated the Sharingan that night and thought he would be a good challenge in the future."_

 _Kakashi didn't reply right away, just staring at his drink. Then he yanked down his mask and downed the contents of the glass, the open display of his face shocking Tenzo and making him nearly choke. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Kakashi sighed and grabbed the bottle to refill it, chugging it in two short gulps before slamming the glass down._

 _Only then did he turn to look at his companion, and in that moment, with his face on almost full display save for his left eye, the silver-haired man looked several years older than his true age._

 _"I'm saying the Uchiha clan massacre is a fucking shitshow, and there's definitely more to it than meets the eye," he declared in a low voice, and tugged his mask back into place before disappearing._

A pained shout drew him out of his reminisces, and Tenzo blinked as he saw Tenten had pinned Masaru to the ground with an arm twisted behind his back. Growling, the boy jerked his body to roll over, pulling the startled kunoichi down with him. As they began wrestling he huffed a quiet sigh but smiled faintly at the scene. Ever since talking to Kakashi he'd been watching Masaru more closely, looking for signs of the Sharingan, but he had yet to see even a hint of red in his eyes.

Still, he didn't take that to mean that the Uchiha boy had not activated it. He knew Kakashi would not have mentioned it unless he had a specific reason to suspect it. Until Tenzo could confirm it with his own eyes though, he'd just have to wait.

"Okay, you two, that's enough," he called, clapping his hands to call the two genin to attention. "Good forms overall, there are just a few things..."

* * *

The plan Team Seven worked out went like this:

Mornings started with an hour of training before the trio of genin would have breakfast with Tazuna's family and accompany him to the bridge. Following Sakura's plan to have Naruto aid in building the bridge, six clones would accompany them with five transformed into bland civilians, while at Sasuke's suggestion the sixth would transform into Kakashi. Real ninja like Zabuza would undoubtedly see through the guise, but they hoped to fool the rest of Gato's thugs and hide Kakashi's absence.

Construction went on for anywhere from eight to ten hours each day, so they broke it into three two hour shifts sandwiched with a one-hour shift in the morning and a final shift that ended whenever construction did. After some discussion they decided all three genin would attend the first and last shift since they expected Gato and his forces to go for an ambush first thing in the morning or at the end of the day, and the rest of the shifts featured one real genin and the Kakashi clone.

During the middle shifts the other two genin would train in the woods behind Tazuna's house before both would head to the bridge to relieve the person on duty. At the end of the final shift all three would escort Tazuna home, at which point they'd do a perimeter check before having the Kakashi clone disperse. Without Kakashi around to provide the assurance of suitable backup, the trio never ventured anywhere alone, whether that meant moving in pairs or with a transformed Naruto clone.

On the first day of implementing this schedule, Sasuke made the first major discovery.

While hiding behind a tree from Naruto during a sparring session, he had been spotted by one of the blonde's numerous shadow clones. The Uchiha immediately popped it with a shuriken before it could give away his location, only for Naruto and the other two clones to descend on his position moments later with determined shouts.

After popping the clones and subduing the impulsive idiot (seriously, a head on assault with a kunai while screaming at the top of his lungs?), Sasuke hoisted the smaller boy up by the collar and demanded, "How the hell did you find me!?"

"I saw you!" Naruto snapped indignantly. "Duh!"

"When?" Sasuke challenged, because he knew Naruto been heading in the opposite direction just moments ago.

"When you popped the first clone!" Confusion briefly marred Sasuke's features before comprehension slowly dawned on him, his body stilling at the realization.

"...Wait. Your clone saw me. And I popped it. And you _remembered that_?"

A beat of silence followed, the boys staring at each other in shock as the implications of this discovery settled in.

" _Ecstatic_ " did not do justice to describe the look on Sakura's face when the pair informed her of their revelation about the properties of Naruto's shadow clones. "So the memories of shadow clones carry over to the real you when they popped?" she asked, and Naruto shivered at the excitement in her voice. A manic gleam twinkled in her eyes as she looked at the blond with an almost predatory smile that left even Sasuke mildly unnerved, and Naruto shuffled slightly before nodding.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," he replied hesitantly, and suddenly Sakura was right in front of him, gripping his collar with a crazed grin on her face.

" _This changes everything._ "

Indeed it did.

When Tsunami entered the living room to ask if their genin guests wanted tea, she had been startled to find ten different copies of Naruto scattered around the room with various books on bridge building. Each had the same long-suffering expression almost begging for the sweet release of death, but Sakura would not allow them to stop no matter how much they complained. Their sacrifice made construction proceed faster though since the knowledge let Naruto provide more help than just hard labor, and while it didn't speed things up as much as the genin would like, they welcomed any improvement.

Revelation number two came from Tazuna.

While explaining the reasoning behind their plan to a curious Tsunami and a sulky Inari over dinner, they got into a tangent about the epic battle between Kakashi and Zabuza. Naruto's enthusiastic recounting of his heroics in dispelling the water prison jarred a certain memory in the bridge builder. "Ya know, I'm surprised you guys need a boat to get off the island," he commented idly, earning curious looks from the assembled genin.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Well, it's just during that crazy fight, shortie over there got dunked in the lake—"

"Hey!" Naruto grumbled irritably.

"—but it looked like your teacher and that crazy killer stood on the water," Tazuna finished. "Didn't he ever teach you guys how to do that, or is it too advanced for a couple brats?"

The question had led to a long pause from the genin, three pairs of eyes exchanging calculating looks. How the hell they failed to notice Kakashi and Zabuza standing on water was beyond them, but once dinner ended the trio met in the bedroom to brainstorm how the heck the jounin did it and—more importantly—whether or not they could replicate it.

Building off her preexisting knowledge and her memories of the fight, Sakura had surmised chakra control played some role in the act. The two men hadn't executed any particular hand signs to allow them to defy physics, and they had walked on water as naturally as land so the act had to be subconscious. She excused herself to go to the woods and experimented in channeling her chakra in various ways in a safe environment.

Half an hour later an overjoyed cry summoned her teammates, and they rushed outside to find the pink-haired girl sitting atop a high tree branch with a giant grin. "Guys! If you pool chakra in your feet you can walk up trees!" To emphasize her point she swung off the branch and angled herself so her feet impacted against the trunk. Sure enough when her sandals smacked against the bark they clung to the tree like glue, keeping her firmly in place while she stretched her arms with a cheeky grin.

Stunned by the sight of their teammate standing horizontally on the side of the tree, the two boys had immediately put it to the test. Following her directions on how to coat their feet in chakra, they ran to the nearest trees and tried to race up them. Their first tries did not work well. Loud crashes echoed as the bark gave way under the force of their chakra, the trunks splintering inwards and leaving large gashes in the wood.

Undeterred by their initial failure, they kept up the training for another hour before going to bed, and early the next morning they woke up and resumed training under Sakura's watchful eye. With her helpful guidance and tips, they figured out how much chakra to channel into their feet and managed to get the technique down by the end of the day.

It didn't take a major mental leap to connect coating their feet to stick to trees to walking on water, but when they attempted to put it into practice, it they had more trouble.

"Ha, you guys look like wet rats!" Naruto jeered, pointing at his teammates with a mocking laugh as he stood on the surface of the river. Bobbing to the surface, Sasuke gritted his teeth in an irritated scowl as he glowered at the blond.

"How the hell is the dobe the only one who got it so far?" he sputtered angrily.

"Obviously because I'm awesome!" Naruto boomed, crossing his arms with a smug smirk. Next to them Sakura's head popped out of the water with a loud gasp, coughing and shaking her head as she waded towards the banks.

"Maybe we should try this somewhere more shallow," she mumbled, grimacing. The speed of the current made it harder to stand on the water because they had to maintain a constant control of their chakra to account for the differences. Sasuke grumbled as he followed her and pulled themselves onto land, while Naruto just easily walked across the surface.

As soon as both his feet had planted on the ground, Sasuke whirled around and shoved the blonde into the water. He smirked as Naruto's startled shout got cut off as he plunged into the depths with a large splash, and when he bobbed to the surface and began spewing hateful insults at the smug Uchiha's direction Sakura just doubled over holding her stomach as she laughed.

While Naruto could maintain his control long enough to cross the sea to the mainland, they didn't want to send him. Their entire strategy thus far hinged heavily on his shadow clones to provide backup, and Sasuke and Sakura couldn't afford to defend Tazuna alone during the time it took Naruto to run to Konoha and get help. It would take at least one day to reach Konoha running at top speeds—though probably longer since they didn't have particularly high expectations of Naruto's ability to remember the route—and Zabuza could recover any day.

As it stood, though, their new skills would provide little aid other than giving them more options for fleeing in the event of an attack. They might be able to buy some time if Zabuza and his assistant showed up, but it would take a miracle to actually _beat_ them. Kakashi had yet to reappear, and in the end the genin found themselves with no other choice but to hope the stranger would follow through with his word and release their teacher.

The bleak nature of their circumstances hung over them at all times like a dark cloud, the constant threat of Zabuza's imminent attack always lingering in the back of their minds. Tazuna's grandson Inari did not help alleviate their grim moods.

"Why do you guys even bother trying?" the sullen boy roared, jabbing a finger at them over dinner one night with a dark scowl. "No matter how hard you train it won't change anything! You're all just kids! You won't ever stand a chance against Gato and his men! You'll just die!"

His cold words cut into the trio like knives, assaulting them with the insecurities and doubts that had been haunting them ever since Kakashi got kidnapped. Sakura flinched and squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the sudden surge of tears threatening to spill while Sasuke sharply turned his head away with his teeth gritted. Naruto, however, just sat perfectly motionless, his fists clenching around his silverware as his body began trembling.

"So you think we're useless?" he whispered, his voice low.

Malevolent energy suddenly seeped into the air, making the three civilians present flinch while Sasuke and Sakura snapped their heads to stare at their teammate wide-eyed. A dark aura seemed to radiate from his body as he bowed his head, dropping his silverware onto the table with a loud clatter.

"You think we don't realize the risks?" he snarled, his voice taking a feral quality as his lips curled back in a furious scowl. "Our teacher got kidnapped by some masked lunatic and a fucking psychopath with a giant sword wants to kill your grandpa. Do you _really_ think we don't get how screwed we are? Because believe me, we get it! It's on our minds all the time. _But!_ We can't just _give up_!"

He slammed his hands on the table and sharply rose to his feet, tears pricking the corners of his eyes as he lifted his head to glare at the stunned boy. "If we give up now, we'll _die_! We'll all be taken down without a fight! But if we try, we might have a chance at getting out of this alive. Yeah, it's small, and yeah, we probably won't be able to do anything, but if we're gonna die anyway then we should at least put in some effort! Screw rolling over and accepting death! We're _Leaf ninja_! If we go down, we're going down fighting!"

Fire burned in his eyes as he roared at Inari, and on either side of him his teammates began to stir, a spark of renewed resolve flickering into their faces. Naruto's words served as a fan for the Will of Fire that burned strongly in them, stirring the dwindling flames and igniting them into a roaring inferno of hope and determination.

They failed to notice the shadowy presence watching them from the window, a small smile touching scarred lips concealed behind a crimson mask as it flickered away. The masked man stepped into Kakashi's room, watching the fall and rise of the blankets covering the silver-haired jounin as he laid atop a soft mattress. His prisoner tiredly turned his head to look at him, his eye narrowing.

Two days remained until Zabuza's projected recovery date, and he still had work to be done before Kakashi could rejoin them.


	21. Chapter 20: Dangerous Mischief Makers

Chapter 20

* * *

 _"A true shinobi can make anything a weapon. On that note, never challenge kids. Creativity and mischief are a very dangerous combination."_

* * *

The morning of Zabuza's attack started like any other.

The genin of Team Seven walked down the road to the bridge with Tazuna and the Kakashi clone for their morning shift when they heard a loud explosion. Snapping their heads in the direction of the sound, the three instantly assumed a defensive formation around their startled client with kunai in their hands. Brightly colored plumes of blue and pink smoke rose in the distance, soon joined by another pillar of orange and gold as a second explosion rocked the world.

Back in Konoha Naruto's mastery of pranks had made him the stuff of legends in the academy, and when strategizing on how to handle Zabuza they had decided to use an old classic. The Paint Bomb Minefield was exactly what it sounded like, a field of explosive paint bombs hidden underground like mines that triggered into giant colorful bursts of paint when stepped on.

Naruto's clones had spent almost two days carefully gathering the supplies to construct and bury one hundred bombs in the space leading up to the bridge. Unlike the harmless but annoying paint bombs he used in the academy, however, for Zabuza they mixed in explosive tags to add some actual power to the resulting blast. They didn't expect it to actually do much damage, but the trap would at least buy them a few minutes.

Dragging Tazuna into the growth of trees next to the path, they ran through the woods while keeping a tight circle around their client. "Confirmation that Zabuza reached Checkpoint One," Naruto reported as memories flooded in from a dispersed clone, snickering under his breath. Flashes of Zabuza covered in giant splotches of brightly colored paint flickered through his mind, his face absolutely shocked as he stared at the hot pink stain covering his chest.

"Naruto, focus!" Sakura snapped before he could laugh. Naruto quickly stopped snickering and nodded firmly, letting the gravity of the situation squash any mirth he might feel.

"Naruto, have all clones working on the bridge transform into Tazuna and scatter them to buy time," Sasuke ordered, and both the blond and his Kakashi clone nodded before the transformed duplicate popped, transmitting the orders to the rest of his clones. Sasuke turned to their third teammate and prompted, "Sakura?"

"I found three potential safe houses," she reported dutifully, pulling a large wadded bundle of clothing from her backpack. "The closest is a small cave in the woods about half a mile from here with the entrance hidden behind a shrub. It's not the most secure place and there's no alternate escape routes, but it should take a while to find. Strip please."

"What?" Tazuna sputtered, ogling her in shock.

"You need to disguise yourself and we don't have much time," Sakura huffed impatiently. The bridge builder still sputtered, but he obediently began taking off his clothes as they moved.

"Other options?" Sasuke pressed Sakura.

"An old fishing shack on a cliff three miles from town, and the basement of an abandoned house towards the edge of town."

"Three miles is too far, and going into town would be too visible," Sasuke decided after a moment of thought. "Forest cave it is."

"Checkpoint two," Naruto interjected suddenly, growing visibly antsy as he sifted through the memories. Checkpoint two involved a web of wires that triggered messy stink bombs when tripped, and Zabuza sliced through the wires with his sword while managing to dodge most of the bombs. "Oi, old man, hurry it up!"

"I'm changing as fast as I can!" Tazuna grumbled, jerking on the shirt Sakura provided. Tugging at the spacy collar, he scowled and complained, "Hey, this is a bit big!"

"Not really," a Naruto clone suddenly replied, appearing next to him with arms full of balled-up pantyhose. Without slowing their pace he shoved it down the shocked Tazuna's collar with a mischievous grin and quickly set to work positioning and securing it in place, giving him the appearance of sagging breasts.

"...You are making me pretend to be an old lady," he realized flatly, staring at his newfound assets in distaste.

"Yep." Sakura couldn't help but grin as she pulled a bonnet from her bag and plopped it on top of his head. Strands of frizzy white and gray hair tumbled out from it and fell to his shoulders, and she quickly adjusted its position so that it framed his face more naturally. Making the pseudo-wig had been difficult, and she had ultimately spent an hour convincing Tsunami to get one of her friends to shear their own hair to use for the disguise. Altogether Sakura spent three hours bleaching and gluing the strands to the inner rim of the hat.

"You do realize most old women don't have facial hair, right?" Tazuna quipped weakly, clearly unhappy with their plan.

"We have it covered," she assured him, while Naruto produced a pair of scissors. Tazuna physically recoiled and stopped running, his face contorting in horror.

"Oi, back up a second! Do you _really_ think you can just give me a clean shave in the middle of woods with _scissors_?"

"Of course not," Sasuke replied dismissively. "We just need to trim it enough to fit behind an allergy mask." Tazuna still seemed uncomfortable, but when Naruto suddenly reported "Third checkpoint cleared" he acquiesced and allowed the blond to quickly trim his beard. The allergy mask Sasuke supplied fit over it smoothly now, and with a pair of sunglasses, a cane and a long skirt covered in patches the gruff bridge builder now looked like an old, blind woman.

Nodding at each other, the trio raised their hands and transformed into nondescript beggars in ratty clothing and smudges of dirt, and resumed moving through the woods at a brisk walk. "Naruto, did any of your clones see the hunter-nin?" Sakura asked, and the blond—now a dirty beggar with matted black hair and heavy smudges under his eyes—frowned.

"No, they didn't," he realized, and his teammates frowned in distaste. He staggered mid-step though, nearly falling in surprise before regaining his momentum. "Shit, Zabuza reached the bridge! He just took out three Tazuna clones in one swipe!"

The other genin sucked in sharp breaths and frowned, picking up the pace slightly. "Until we know where he is, we can't let our guard down," Sasuke warned lowly, and the others nodded in firm agreement. Tazuna meanwhile seemed overwhelmed by the sudden burst of activity and decided to just let them take the lead.

While the genin hustled their client towards the cave, back at the bridge Zabuza had long since reached the limits of his patience. As a ninja he knew to expect traps, but the sheer immaturity of the ones here infuriated him. Paint bombs, stink bombs and then oil slicks had made reaching the bridge a royal pain, the sheer number of traps too large for him to avoid it all completely. Then to top it off when he arrived he found an army of shadow clones transformed into his target.

Patience officially gone, the former Shinobi Swordsman roared as he swung the Kubikiribocho at a small posse of Tazunas and Narutos, popping them in a large cloud of smoke. Screaming with rage and frustration, he spun to face the entrance of the bridge and called sharply, " _Haku!_ "

His apprentice materialized within seconds, irritatingly clean and pristine as usual in his hunter-nin costume. "Yes, Zabuza-sama?"

"How the hell are you so clean?!"

"I ran on the water to approach the bridge from an alternate angle as you ordered, sir."

Oh, of course. Of _course_ they didn't have any traps in the water.

Shoving down his irritation, Zabuza hefted his sword over his shoulder and spat, "The old man isn't here. We're moving on!" Nodding obediently, his apprentice turned to race off the bridge only to find their path blocked by a flock of Naruto clones. The clones knew that they stood no chance against Zabuza and his apprentice, but even a few precious seconds of spare time could mean the difference between life and death for their original.

"You're not going anywhere!" one of them hollered, and as one they raised their hands into a familiar sign.

Now, to understand the next part, we must first rewind time three days ago.

Early in the morning, a single clone raced through some woods in search of a suitable place to transform and head to the bridge. As he ran along, he happened to glimpse Haku in a gap in the trees collecting herbs to treat Zabuza. Naturally the Hyoton-user had noticed the clone's presence and had braced himself for a potential confrontation. However, due to its current mission the clone simply continued forward to find another isolated location to transform, without interacting with him.

That did not mean Haku left no impact on Naruto, though. Dressed in his civilian garb, Haku had been unrecognizable to his clone, but it had noted Haku to be very pretty. Pretty enough that when it dispersed at the end of the day and sent visions of a forest beauty back to the original Naruto, the blonde had shouted in despair at not getting a chance to talk to the gorgeous woman.

That sentiment still remained strong in his mind even after three days, and so as the clones faced down the two enemies they used "her" as inspiration as they executed the one jutsu capable of taking down the Hokage.

"Sexy Jutsu—Harem Jutsu!"

Smoke burst and shrouded the clones, and when it dispersed an assortment of Narukos and voluptuous female Hakus faced the two former Mist nin. Wisps of smoke still rolled around their more sensitive bits, helpfully censoring their explicit nudity for any children who may happen to be viewing it, but enough skin showed to make it clear that the Hakus were quite well endowed to a point even Tsunade might be jealous.

As they blew kisses at the pair with seductive smiles and giggles, the two Mist nin just stared at them blankly, their deadened expressions rivaling even the Uchiha clan. "...Haku," Zabuza said tonelessly, and without another word his loyal tool launched forward to cut through the giggling harem with an ice blade.

Once the last clone popped, Haku turned to his master with a deep bow. "Sir, I apologize you had to see that."

"Haku. What was that."

"I do not know. However, three days ago I noticed the boy in orange while collecting herbs in the woods. We did not interact, but he must have recognized me and decided to transform into a feminine version of myself to catch us by surprise." Bowing deeper, he added sincerely, "I apologize for my incompetence, Zabuza-sama."

"...Right." Somehow Zabuza doubted that, but he wouldn't say so out loud. "I'll... let it slide this time. Just... don't let it happen again."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama." Haku straightened and looked to him for orders, while Zabuza took a few moments to contemplate their next move. Clearly they'd beaten their target to the bridge, and the smoke from the first trap almost certainly clued in the Leaf ninja to their approach. He had no doubts they would go into hiding, and given they had the genius Hatake Kakashi leading them he sincerely doubted they'd return to his house.

From there, his next thought was simple: _why would a Leaf genin be alone in the woods in hostile territory?_ Turning to gaze at the thick clusters of trees visible far in the distance, the Swordsman narrowed his eyes. "Haku, where exactly did you see that brat?"

* * *

In another world, some cultures considered seven to be a lucky and auspicious number.

In this world, the number seven apparently had a curse on it, because in an absurd twist of fate the Naruto clone which Haku had witnessed three days ago happened to be in heading in the same general direction of the cave Sakura had identified as a hiding place.

Which led to the current situation.

Not even half an hour after huddling in the cave, a single Naruto clone disguised as a squirrel and left as a sentry suddenly popped, sending visuals of a rainbow-splattered Zabuza heading their way. "Guys," he whispered, his face paling. Nothing more needed to be said, his teammates instantly understood his message.

Heart pounding in his chest, Sasuke wrestled down the spike of anxiety he felt at the prospect of facing the criminal. As it stood, he knew Zabuza severely outmatched him. Fighting him directly or even indirectly would not work, Zabuza could take them down with a single swipe of the sword. Deceit, guile and carefully executed trickery would be their best bet to survive this scenario.

"We need to move Tazuna somewhere safe, ASAP," he whispered to his team.

"What're you gonna do?" the man in question asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Make another batch of clones and use them as a distraction while we run?" Over the past nine days he had witnessed Naruto make the clones countless times to the point even he could recognize how their nearly all of their strategies revolved around them.

However, even as he spoke though Sakura shook her head. "No, Naruto's already made a lot today and it'd be better to conserve his chakra. His chakra reserves are really big, but they must have _some_ kind of limit, and the last thing we need is for him to pass out from chakra exhaustion like Kakashi-sensei in the middle of a fight."

"Besides," Sasuke added bitterly, "The shadow clones won't hold him forever. I think our best shot is to play a homeless family like we discussed earlier."

That particular strategy still left a dirty taste in their mouths, because in order to pull it off they'd have to _act_ like civilians, which meant they couldn't sneak around. Basically, that meant walking in plain sight at a slow pace without trying to hide or run, because even homeless civilians wouldn't have the kind of paranoia that ninja had. This meant a real chance of running into Zabuza and having to convincingly play the part of a group of confused children helping their poor, sickly blind grandmother.

Eyebrows pinching together, Naruto lowered his head and realized at some point his hand had moved to hover over his stomach. His frown grew as he stared at it, and he squeezed his eyelids shut as he sucked in a deep breath.

"...Guys, listen to me," he said quietly, getting their attention. "If worst comes to worst, take Tazuna and run. I'll stay behind and hold them off."

Sasuke and Sakura immediately leveled sharp looks on their blond teammate, their eyes wide with shock.

"What?" Sakura breathed, her face paling even with the transformation in place.

"Dammit, do you have a death wish, brat?" Tazuna sputtered, utterly bewildered by the latest turn of events. Sasuke's hands curled into fists at his sides, leaning forward to glare at the idiot.

"I know you're stupid, but this is a new level even for you!" he hissed, trying to keep the rising panic out of his voice. "You'd be walking straight to your death!"

However, when the blonde raised his head to look at them Sasuke felt himself stiffen in surprise while Sakura's breath caught in her throat. Fear and uncertainty glimmered in Naruto's eyes, yet beneath that sparkled an undercurrent of strong conviction and resolution that left the Uchiha breathless.

"I know it sounds crazy, but... You need to trust me on this, okay?" He flashed them a cocky grin as he spoke and his face became even more of a paradox, a jumble of contradicting emotions that should not be able to exist at the same time as his smile both rang false and radiated sincerity at the same time.

Sasuke found himself unable to look away from the dissonance of his teammate's expression, his blood unusually chilled by the complex array of sentiments visible. He'd never even thought Naruto to be _capable_ of having such complicated feelings, usually the dobe displayed his emotions with a simple zealousness that made him ridiculously easy to read. The stark contrast left him in a state of mild shock.

While he tried to sort through it, Sakura recovered first.

" _Bullshit._ "

Hearing such vulgar language from the usually polite and well-spoken kunoichi stunned her teammates, both boys turning to regard her in open-mouthed surprise. Her eyes burned with a fathomless fury as she glared at Naruto, her transformation's dirty features contorted in rage. "Uzumaki Naruto, we are _not_ leaving you to face certain death while we run away!"

"She's got a point," Sasuke agreed dryly, willing himself to calm down. If Sakura could keep her cool, so could he. "For some reason I can't understand my cousin seems to like you, and I am _not_ going to be the one to explain to him why you're not back with us."

"B-but—"

"Naruto, do you remember the first lesson Kakashi-sensei even taught us?" Sakura challenged, and Naruto frowned, face screwing up in confusion.

"Has he actually _taught_ us anything?" he grumbled. "It's all just basic stretches and working on aim and boring junk like that!" Sakura's eye twitched as she glared at him, her patience clearly running thin. Sasuke, however, narrowed his eyes as he realized exactly what she referred to.

"Those who break rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum."

The words of their teacher slipped out without much thought, his lips pursing into a frown as he finished. While Sasuke may not particularly agree or disagree with the sentiment it expressed, when spoken by their teacher the phrase held a certain power, a strong conviction that came only from personal experience. For that alone he could respect the statement, and from the way Naruto's features visibly sobered he knew Naruto respected it too.

"Exactly," Sakura confirmed with a nod. "We're a team now. If we leave you behind, you'll just die. What kind of self-respecting ninja would sacrifice a teammate for a gambit we don't even know would work?"

"Then why did we leave Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto challenged, his voice rising in agitation. "We abandoned him after that creepy kidnapper guy took him, so we're already scum!"

"That's different," Sasuke replied, his tone more bitter than usual as he glared at the floor of the cavern. "This mission went above our scope the second Kakashi got captured. We didn't have the power to do anything ourselves, so we chose the option that would have the greatest chance of saving him. The whole point of having you help build the bridge was so we could try to send someone to get help."

Even as he spoke his chest tightened with anger and irritation, because he _hated_ admitting his weakness. In the academy, he had grown used to being the strongest student. Everyone lauded him as a prodigy and praised his skill, his graduation delayed only due to rules made after the massacre to prevent placing undue stress on such young children.

Yet here in Wave, for the first time in years Sasuke found himself confronted with just how _weak_ and _vulnerable_ he really was. He had not noticed his dependence upon Kakashi before the man had been taken, and since then he'd been in a constant state of fight or flight. _Fight_ was not an option though, not against someone who could throw a giant meat cleaver of a sword as easily as a kunai, so he had no choice but to accept _flight_.

To kill _that man_ , Sasuke needed to be strong. Zabuza _paled_ in comparison to _him_. So if Sasuke couldn't take _Zabuza_ on, then what chance would he stand?

If _that man_ were to suddenly appear in Konoha and threaten him while alone, Sasuke would be utterly defenseless. His shurikenjutsu would be useless against a genius like him, and his fireball could be easily negated by plenty of techniques. It _burned_ to realize that, it _ached_ and _stung_ and _bit_ to understand just how pathetic he was in the larger scheme.

Right now, Uchiha Sasuke could do absolutely nothing.

 _So why the hell did Naruto think_ he _could handle Zabuza!?_

Gritting his teeth, he rose from his spot and glared holes into the blonde, every detail of his stunned face burning into his memory with intense clarity. "We are not leaving you behind like cowards!" he snapped. "If we run, we run together. If we fight, we _fight_ together. No exceptions. Got that, dobe?"

Naruto just stared at him slack-jawed, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. "S-Sasuke," Sakura whispered, her voice cracking on the word as she paled even further.

"Holy shit, kid!" Tazuna suddenly gasped. "What the hell happened to your eyes!?"

The abrupt question threw him off, and Sasuke turned to look at him in confusion before realization set in. Everything seemed so much clearer now, so focused and detailed... And his teammates somehow seemed _slower_?

What—

Before he could finish the thought, he suddenly became aware of dampness collecting at his feet, and his gaze snapped towards an equally alarmed Sakura.

" _Everyone out!_ "

* * *

When Kakashi woke up, he expected to open his eyes to the same blank white ceiling he'd been viewing for the past several days.

However, as he roused from his latest drug-induced nap, he immediately noticed the ever-constant pressure on his wrists and ankles was gone and instantly became much more alert. His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, looking around his surroundings wildly. Salty air nipped at his face as he heard the dull roar of waves crashing against sandy shores in the distance, the soft bed he'd been staying in since the procedure replaced by hard, tightly packed soil.

For the first time in nine days, he felt the sun on his masked face, and it felt _glorious_.

Basking in its warmth, after a moment he quickly shook his head and pulled himself to his feet. He'd blame the slip in his attention on the residual effects of the drugs his kidnapper (who _still_ had not given Kakashi a name despite his ridiculously friendly demeanor and repeated insistence they knew each other) gave him last night. Or was it this morning? Drug-induced sleep and a lack of windows really screwed with his internal clock.

The Copy-Nin surveyed his surroundings warily and quickly noted he seemed to be on a dirt path within a wooded area. Turning his head, he could see a small town in the distance, and beyond the wooden houses he glimpsed rolls of sparkling blue water that melded into the sky.

Clearly he had not left the Land of Waves, which came as a mild relief. He still didn't know his exact location though.

Tipping his head back, his eyes narrowed as he spied his weapons pouch hanging from a branch high overhead. After some wary consideration the jounin quickly funneled chakra into his legs to power a large leap, and found himself surprised at how easily his chakra flowed given it had been sealed the past few days. Carefully retrieving his pouch, he relaxed slightly when it didn't immediately explode in his hands.

After a cursory inspection to confirm nothing had been removed or tampered with, he turned his attention to the slip of paper he'd noticed pinned to the trunk of the tree with a kunai. He noted the handwriting to be surprisingly neat, almost elegant in a way without being overly fancy.

' _Kakashi, as promised, I have released you now that a sufficient recovery time has passed. You should be fine now, though your muscles might be a little weak. The medical seals I used can only prevent degradation so much. I suggest doing some quick stretches to help loosen them up. On the bright side your chakra should be totally intact._

 _Which is good, because Gato and a mob of like one hundred mercenary thugs will be passing through pretty soon. You might want to stop them before they find your genin. Good luck!_ '

Kakashi stared at the note for approximately fifteen seconds before his shoulders slumped.

He didn't care how friendly that guy acted or how strongly he insisted that he knew and cared about Kakashi. Once he figured out his identity, Kakashi would personally see to it that he endured hell.

* * *

Meanwhile in Konoha, Masaru hunched over his backpack in his bedroom making sure he had all his clothes and weapons in stock. He could hear faint clanking from the kitchen as Gaku-sensei prepared breakfast, a rather strange thought after waking up to an empty apartment for the past two weeks. Today they had plans to go on a three-day camping excursion outside the village to test his survival skills, so Gaku-sensei had opted to spend the night so they could set out as early as possible.

Satisfied with his inspection, he glanced around his bedroom one last time to see if any last-minute additions caught his attention. Nothing did, so he turned back to his backpack and quietly did one more check over before zipping it up. He hitched it over his shoulder and headed for the door only to pause as a flicker of light caught his eye.

Turning sharply, his eyes narrowed as he studied the map of the elemental nations hanging above his bed. It had been painted by his mother, each country filled in with gorgeous coloring and subtle artistic designs representing basic geographic features that had fascinated him from a young age. Intricate black markings framed the edges of the illustration, so beautiful he almost didn't see a need for the frame.

As usual, his attention first went to the Land of Fire, which had been painted a warm, burnt orange that matched the color of autumn foliage. Wisps of flames mingled with impressions of leaves, the black stylized leaf representing Konoha popping out in a stark contrast. Masaru eyed it briefly but spared no time to appreciate its aesthetics, instead letting his gaze slide towards an island just off its shores where a small bead of white light hovered.

Even as he turned to look at it the glow faded away though, leaving him staring at the small island it had previously covered. Due to the artistic nature of the map Ryoko hadn't actually labeled anything, so he had no idea what country it represented. Its soft, greenish-blue color hearkened to the cool hues of the deep sea surrounding it, curved lines rippling across it in a mimicry of waves.

Masaru frowned as he studied the map, sharpening his focus. The lines became more distinct, the ripple patterns burning into his brain. Not even a trace of the white glow lingered. Had it really been there?

"Hey, Masaru, breakfast is ready."

He started in surprise when he heard Gaku's voice from the doorway, having failed to notice his approach as usual. Blinking, he quickly shook his head and turned to face his teacher, finding the man leaning against the doorway with a faint smile. "Trying to find where we're going?" he teased lightly, and Masaru smiled.

"Kinda pointless. Mom didn't really label anything."

"Huh, now that I look at it more closely you're right. At least it's pretty."

"Yeah. It really is." With a final appreciative glance at the map, he grabbed his bag and followed Gaku to the kitchen, pushing the strange light out of his mind.

* * *

 **Sorry this is up a bit late! I've had an art class every day this week from 8 to 4:30. It's actually been ridiculously fun and one of my favorite classes I've ever had, but it's super time-consuming since the work carries over at home. With that said, I didn't have time to re-review this before posting so while I'm pretty sure there are no mistakes, it may not be as high-quality as other chapters.**

 **By the way, a warning: the next chapter will be HUGE. I combined two chapters in one to wrap up the arc a bit faster. So next chapter will mark the end of Wave!  
**


	22. Chapter 21: A Crazy Plan

Chapter 21

* * *

 _"That plan's so crazy it just might fail! Actually it'll probably fail, you should just stick to business and leave murder conspiracies to the pros."_

* * *

When Zabuza and Haku entered the woods to search, the Mist-nin had been surprised at how easy it was to find their quarry. While the cavern had been an admittedly impressive place to hide and could have easily been missed due to the shrub concealing the entrance, Zabuza barely had to expend any energy to locate it.

After all, he only had to follow the sound of raised voices.

His hands flew through the seals for a simple Suiton jutsu, a small flood pouring into the cavern, and within seconds of starting four people burst out.

The former Mist nin found himself faltering not for the first time today at the sheer absurdity of the sight before him. Three brats who looked like street urchins stared at him and Haku wide-eyed—one with noticeably blood red irises with commas rotating around the pupils—and behind them stood what could be the ugliest old woman he'd ever seen, if not for the roughly trimmed facial hair and the fact the sagging breasts beneath the baggy shirt seemed to fall apart so only one "boob" remained.

Eye twitching with irritation, Zabuza decided he no longer had the energy to care anymore and launched his attack.

And so, any plans Team Seven had in mind of fleeing officially shattered as they found themselves desperately fending for their lives from a homicidally furious A-rank missing-nin and his assistant.

"The universe officially hates us," Sakura groaned, clutching a kunai with a death grip to guard Tazuna while a horde of Naruto clones hurled themselves at Haku with a furious shout of "CHARGE!" The faux hunter-nin flickered out of the way and flicked his wrist to send several senbon flying in their general direction, each one piercing a clone's chest dead-center and causing them to pop.

Meanwhile Sauske stood alone against Zabuza, gritting his teeth as he clutched a windmill shuriken. His newly activated Sharingan made all of his opponent's moves appear slower, but just because he could see the man's moves didn't mean his physical reaction time improved too. The current inner turmoil over the realization he'd _just activated the Sharingan_ did not aid in his ability to think clearly.

Murderous intent rolled off the paint-covered Swordsman in thick waves that crushed Sasuke's lungs and left him nearly paralyzed, cold sweat dripping down the genin's face. The missing-nin's body shook with harsh and ragged breaths, his eyes wild and manic against the orange and green splotches that surrounded them like masks.

As a professional killer hired specifically to kill Tazuna, Zabuza acknowledged he should probably just kill him now. None of the genin here stood a chance against him, and even if Haku decided not to go for lethal blows he could probably incapacitate all of them without even knocking them out. Heck, all Zabuza really had to do was body flicker behind the pink-haired brat and slit the old man's throat.

But _fuck it_. His capacity to give a damn about professionalism had gone out the window when the stink bombs hit him dead-center in the chest. Killing a defenseless old man dressed like an old lady would hardly sate his need for blood. Zabuza needed a _real_ fight, something actually challenging to give him a chance to go all out and properly vent his stress.

" _Where. The hell. Is Hatake._ "

His voice dripped with icy venom that sent shivers down Sakura's spine, while Sasuke visibly winced and locked up as his breath snagged in his throat. Naturally, neither of them wanted to admit that Kakashi had been missing for the past nine days, but obviously they needed to tell him _something_ or they'd end up chopped into little pieces.

As Sasuke scrambled to think of a suitable excuse Naruto suddenly stopped attacking Haku and raised his arms to form a T. "Hold on a second, time out! What will you guys do if that Gato guy suddenly dies before you finish the job? Will you guys stop?"

"What?" Haku halted a surprise attack from behind the blonde to shoot him a baffled look, while Zabuza growled in frustration.

"Don't change the topic you stupid brat!" he roared, making all three genin wince. Shrinking back from the _intense_ spike in killing intent, Naruto began rubbing the back of his neck and sucked on the inside of his cheek.

"Uh, b-but I'm kinda not changing it?" he muttered meekly. That did not ease the bloodthirsty Mist nin.

" _Are you kidding me_!? I am two seconds from ripping your head off with my bare hands you damn brat!"

While Zabuza seethed with increasingly furious irritation, Haku regarded the blonde silently as he scrutinized his words. Unlike his master, Haku had _not_ been consumed by homicidal rage due to a series of juvenile pranks, and as such he could calmly analyze the situation. Given the specific question Naruto asked, he reached the conclusion he should probably indulge the blonde. "It depends on the circumstances, but most likely we will stop as he has not paid us. Why do you ask?"

"Well, see, about two minutes ago one of my clones ran into that masked guy who kidnapped Kakashi-sensei—"

" _WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?_ "

" _NARUTO!_ " Sasuke and Sakura hissed, staring at him in open horror while Tazuna choked in fear at the sudden increase in Zabuza's already suffocating murderous intent.

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses and let me finish!" Naruto snapped, shooting his teammates and the incredibly deadly missing-nin an annoyed look. Huffing, he resumed pointedly, " _Anyways_ , so that guy grabbed my clone and dragged him to a road about twenty miles away from here, and right now Kakashi-sensei is fighting who I _assume_ is Gato and a mob of, like, one hundred thugs."

His teammates gawked at him in disbelief, while Zabuza's explosive fury cooled down to a simmering rage. He suddenly appeared in front of the blonde and hoisted him into the air by the collar, making Naruto yell in surprise and start squirming. "What did you just say?" he demanded in an eerily low voice, and the genin gulped, shrinking under his penetrating glare.

"I s-said, Kakashi-sensei is fighting a bunch of thugs, and I'm pretty sure your boss is one of them?"

Cursing loudly, Zabuza flung the brat to the ground and threw his arms into the air in exasperation. " _ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?_ "

* * *

Twenty miles away, Kakashi felt just as frustrated as Zabuza did. His body definitely felt the effects of the extended captivity and lack of action, his reaction time ever so slightly slowed and his muscles a bit too loose for his liking, but not nearly enough to hinder him. While Gato's thugs vastly outnumbered him, most of them barely registered as a larger threat than a freshly-graduated genin, so he had little trouble cutting them down.

Weaving through the mob of mercenaries and slashing throats and stomachs with a blood-soaked kunai, he found himself more irritated than challenged by the current fight. Obito's eye burned in his socket as he swerved around a sloppily swung sword and buried the kunai in the shoulder of its wielder, eliciting a pained yell. Kakashi easily snagged the sword from his loosened grip before he sent the thug flying back into three others with a strong kick to the chest.

Electricity trickled through his fingers as the Copy-nin whirled to intercept another attack, letting his natural element infuse into the blade as he swiped it at his would-be assailant. A strangled scream echoed around them as the poor soul stumbled back and the distinct odor of charred flesh arose as sparks visibly danced in the bloody gash crossing his chest. The others around him recoiled in horror and quickly began to retreat from Kakashi, making him arch a brow at their cowardice.

Really. What did they expect, going up against one of Konoha's top jounin known for his lightning techniques? Though to be fair maybe they just hadn't heard of him, since clearly none of them had even an _iota_ of knowledge about shinobi. If they did, they wouldn't be fighting a jounin with a _weird red eye_ _with three constantly spinning tomoe_. Actually, when phrased like that, he had to question if they possessed any common sense, period.

Cutting through the crowd, his attention zeroed in on the short man with puffy sand-colored hair and a well-ironed business suit staring at him fearfully. A sharp odor trailed from his direction and Kakashi's nose wrinkled in disgust because, _ew_. He briefly eyed the growing stain around the crotch of the man's trousers with no small amount of disdain before turning to slice through another idiot trying to bash his head in with a nail-ridden club.

Once he'd felled a couple more idiots, Kakashi turned to face the businessman fully. After spending the past four minutes cutting through the most idiotic mob of thugs he'd ever encountered, the Copy-Nin made a fearsome sight. Electricity idly sparked along the length of the bloodied blade held casually at his side, his left arm soaked in blood from cutting down opponents with the kunai. Red streaked his silver hair, and more specks of the crimson liquid glittered darkly underneath his implanted eye.

"You know, this mission is really getting on my nerves," he quipped dryly, his eyes showing no humor. Gato cowered under his cold gaze, staggering backwards as his knees shook violently.

"St-stay away from me!" he stuttered, his voice rising in pitch with panic. "I-I'll pay you anything you want! Name your price, I can afford it! Just—just don't kill me!" His open cowardice only elevated Kakashi's irritation with the man, his eyes narrowing dangerously. As a responsible jounin who represented Konoha, he knew he should not needlessly slaughter a well-connected businessman.

On the other hand, he had just spent eight days in captivity restrained to a bed after being forced to undergo a highly unwanted medical procedure, and had been subjected to the most chipper and enthusiastic kidnapper he'd ever encountered outside of the time Gai and Genma dragged him from his apartment and forced him to join them for a night out on town.

Honestly, Konoha would have _way_ bigger problems on their hands than punishing him for assassinating a tyrannical business tycoon once he submitted his report.

His grip on the hilt of the sword loosened and he let it slide out of his hands, his gaze never leaving Gato's fearful eyes as it clattered to the ground. "Sorry, but after the week I had, I'm afraid no amount of money can save you."

As he spoke his legs slowly slid apart from their casual gait, and for the first time the mob did something _smart_ and backed away as blue sparks began to gather in his hand. The space around him began crackling with electricity as chakra gathered in his hand, the air reverberating with a high-pitched screeching reminiscent of countless birds chirping.

At this point an even more pungent odor assaulted Kakashi's nose, and he scowled in open distaste. Gato had officially vacated the rest of his bowels.

Uncaring about the fact that using the Chidori on a civilian was seriously overkill, he launched himself forward with an angry roar, thrusting his hand directly at Gato's chest. The businessman stood paralyzed by fear, only able to watch as death surged right for him.

His scream rung out just as Zabuza rocketed through the trees.

* * *

Given the highly violent and lethal nature of the shinobi lifestyle, few events in their line of work could be described as "awkward".

Finding one's employer dead at the hands of an enemy before he could pay them definitely counted though.

Heavy tension choked the air as Kakashi stood over Gato's gory corpse, the businessman's chest cavity little more than a raw mound of flesh and blood from the impact of the Chidori. Normally the Chidori did not leave such a mess, but Kakashi had made a point to bury it only halfway through Gato's chest rather than fully penetrate it. It made for an even more painful death than usual since it obliterated his skin and ribs, and only _partially_ pierced his lungs and heart.

Eying the body with total apathy, the silver-haired jounin turned to level a calm, almost bored gaze on the rainbow-splattered ninja who had just arrived. "Hello, Zabuza," he greeted without any particular inflection. "As you can see, I just killed your employer and a good chunk of his men. I would apologize for the inconvenience, but I honestly don't care right now."

Frustration officially hitting its peak, Zabuza roared in frustration and stabbed the Kubikiribocho into the nearest tree, the blade shoving straight through the trunk with a loud crash and protruding halfway through the opposite side. " _Fuck it all to fucking hell!_ " he yelled, cursing at the top of his lungs.

As he spewed a variety of words as colorful as the paint currently splattering him from head to toe, Team Seven and Haku burst through the trees and came to a startled halt. All of them looked unkempt and ragged, their bodies littered with scratches and bleeding cuts and their clothes torn from fighting, but their wild eyes locked on the blood-soaked jounin standing over Gato's corpse and their breaths caught as one.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto stammered, the name rattling off his lips in a stunned stupor. Next to him Sasuke stared at Kakashi with wide glowing red eyes as he registered the man's presence while Sakura's face screwed up in overwhelming relief and emotion.

"K-Kakashi-sensei!" she sobbed, tears gathering as she inhaled a shaky breath, and before he could react the trio surged forward as one to tackle him. Kakashi could only stand in mild shock as two sobbing genin and one rattled Uchiha trapped him in a bear hug, his waist quickly growing damp with two kids' worth of snot and tears as they buried their faces into his side.

"You're alive," Naruto sniffed, his arms tightening around Kakashi's side. "You're actually alive!"

"We were so s-scared," Sakura blubbered, her voice muffled by his clothing as she buried her face further. "We couldn't figure out how to find you and save you and we didn't know when Zabuza would attack and-and—"

Frozen and unsure how the hell to deal with a bunch of crying kids, Kakashi awkwardly reached out and patted Naruto and Sakura's heads, and then winced slightly when he noted the blood on his left hand stain Naruto's sunny blonde hair. The boy barely seemed to care though, as he tipped his head back to gaze at him with watery blue eyes and _oh kami he made Sensei's kid cry_.

Kakashi's brain shut down as he stared at his student, unable to think of how to respond. Fortunately, Sasuke came to the rescue. "We protected Tazuna," he reported, his voice eerily flat compared to his teammates, and Kakashi turned to look at him only to freeze. Sasuke stared up at him with bloody red irises, a total of three tomoe distributed between his eyes as he noted one in the left eye and two in the right.

The Copy-Nin's brain echoed back to that dinner at Ryoko's house so long ago, her words about the price of the Sharingan ringing through his head, and as he stared at the physical manifestation of Sasuke's emotional dissonance he realized his kidnapping probably had a role in it activating.

 _Shit._

One month in and Kakashi had officially traumatized his team. This is why he did not want to take on a bunch of genin, he had enough trouble handling his own issues, let alone those of three kids!

While he floundered with how the hell to handle the latest turn of events, Haku carefully approached the still-cursing Zabuza. "Sir?" he hazarded cautiously, and the string of profanities tapered off with a final tree-splitting punch as Zabuza turned to face his apprentice.

"What?" he bit.

"What are your orders?" Haku asked, carefully measuring his tone to avoid agitating his master further. The man growled lowly in irritation, turning to level a glare upon their former employer's corpse.

Sensing the change in the Swordsman's demeanor, Kakashi pried his students off him and quickly moved them behind himself. Technically, this did not make them perfectly safe since they still had about thirty thugs standing behind them. At this point though Gato's mercenaries had been thoroughly frightened by the sheer brutality they just witnessed, so none of them made a move to attack the still-shaken genin.

"That cheapskate didn't bother paying us in advance, so there's no point in carrying out the job," Zabuza declared plainly. His gaze slid over to Kakashi, his eyes narrowing. "I am half-tempted to try to lob off your head anyway, but at this point I am officially fed up with this job and honestly can't be bothered to give a shit anymore."

"That makes two of us," Kakashi agreed tiredly. Slaughtering the horde of thugs had been laughably easy, but once the adrenaline wore off the emotional strain from his captivity had left him drained. Right now he just wanted to curl up with his Icha Icha collection and recharge his energy. "So I suppose this means a ceasefire, then."

"Sure, why the hell not." Zabuza shrugged lazily, and Kakashi decided to trust him. He should _probably_ try to eliminate Zabuza anyway, since he still posed a serious threat and all, but he didn't care. Kakashi _really_ just wanted to get home, but sadly he'd probably have to stick around a bit longer until Tazuna finished the bridge.

Turning to his students, he asked curiously, "Where is Tazuna, anyway?"

"Oh, he's fine!" Naruto responded cheerily, flashing him a proud grin only _slightly_ offset by the still-moist tears staining his cheeks. "I left a couple shadow clones behind to guard him while we chased after these guys!"

Kakashi decided to ignore the irritated growl-like noise Zabuza made at the mention of shadow clones. "I see. Well, let's go get him and go to his house. I think we've earned a day off." His students visibly sagged in relief, and he noticed not for the first time just how _tired_ they all looked. The emotional toll from worrying over their teacher and their circumstances had combined with their daily physical exertion, and now that everything had finally resolved they seemed just as drained as he felt.

"A day off sounds good," Sasuke muttered quietly, and that only sharpened Kakashi's mental assessment of their exhaustion. The Uchiha trained every day for hours on end without showing signs of complaint, so for even him to be worn out, his genin must have worked even harder than he'd originally thought.

His heart panged with guilt at the realization, and he swallowed harshly as he forced a smile onto his face, his eyes crinkling in carefully crafted cheer. "Maa, I'm sure it does. When we get to his house you guys can tell me all about what you did the past few days, okay?"

Ever eager to show off, Naruto promptly began rattling off all the cool stuff they'd done. Kakashi just nodded his head absently, quickly giving up on following Naruto's fast-paced rambling. Instead he looked to his other students, his gaze lingering on Sasuke in particular.

"...You should probably deactivate that now," he suggested mildly, and the Uchiha blinked before realizing what he meant. Swallowing, he squeezed his eyes shut and his face scrunched with intense concentration, and when he opened his eyes again the bright red of the Sharingan had faded into their usual inky black coloring.

"Hey, before we go, I have one question," Sakura suddenly interjected, and the trio of males turned to regard her with varying degrees of curiosity.

"Yes, Sakura?" Kakashi asked, and the pink-haired girl frowned slightly as her green eyes flitted behind them towards the bloody carnage Kakashi had wrought earlier. It suddenly occurred to Kakashi she might need therapy for this, yet another offense

"Where was Gato going with all those men?"

Her question gave Kakashi pause, and even Zabuza seemed to pause at it. "Yeah," he murmured lowly, slowly turning to face the remnants of the mob Gato had amassed. "Why _did_ he need all you guys?" The surviving mercenaries quaked in fear under his narrowed gaze, all earlier bravado dashed after the spectacle of Kakashi easily slaughtering their colleagues and employer.

"W-we d-don't—" one stammered, but another cut in before he could finish.

"We were just following orders!" a lanky-looking thug exploded, his features screwed with panic and fear as he staggered backwards. His heel dug into a corpse's hand and he winced in alarm, quickly rambling, "We didn't want to fight you guys! B-but Gato ordered us to take you down so he wouldn't have to pay you! If we knew how strong you were we wouldn't have followed it though, honest!"

His fearful rambling cut off as one of his comrades slapped a hand over his mouth, but the damage had been done. Heavy silence followed as the six ninja stared at the mercenaries, slowly processing the implications of what he heard.

Staring at them blankly, Sasuke slowly said, "...Gato was going to have you, a bunch of thugs, try to take out _him_ ," he didn't gesture to Zabuza but he didn't really need to, "An A-rank missing-nin from Kiri and one of the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen, just so he wouldn't have to _pay_ him?"

More tense silence followed. Then one of the mercenaries squeaked a hesitant, "Y-yes?" and another mercenary slapped a hand over his mouth.

Shoulders sagging tiredly, Zabuza promptly planted his face in his hand and grumbled under his breath. "Haku?"

"Yes, Zabuza-sama?" his apprentice asked.

"Did we just waste two months for absolutely no pay?"

"...I believe so, yes," Haku responded after a moment's hesitation, and his master released an inhuman roar full of barely contained aggravation.

Kakashi quickly hoisted Naruto under his arm and grabbed Sakura and Sasuke by the shoulders before initiating a body flicker, moving to safety just before Zabuza surged towards the terrified mercenaries with a bloodthirsty roar. Landing next to Haku, he released his grip on them and set Naruto down, calmly placing his hands on all of their shoulders and turning each stunned genin around one at a time to face away from the carnage.

"Well, it seems this is wrapping up quite nicely," he commented casually to Haku. The dark-haired boy turned his head slightly to watch him, his expression unreadable behind his mask, but after a moment he gave a small nod.

"I suppose so," he murmured quietly, turning back to the destruction his master currently wracked upon the unfortunate mercenaries.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked questioningly, starting to turn his head, but the jounin plopped a hand on the blonde's head and firmly turned it forward.

"Maa, you really shouldn't look right now," he commented idly, and turned back to Haku. "If I may make a suggestion. If you and Zabuza dispose of all the corpses, I will help you cash that big check Gato wrote you two."

His comment made the boy visibly stiffen, and he could sense Haku's eyes slowly slide towards him behind the mask. "...Did they not just confirm that Gato had no intentions of paying Zabuza-sama?" he asked carefully, and Kakashi smiled.

"Well, yes, but his bank doesn't know that," he replied cheerfully. "And wouldn't you know it, one of the perks of the Sharingan is making _really_ good forgeries of signatures."

Sasuke seemed to choke on air at the overly mundane usage of his clan's vaunted doujutsu, but Kakashi ignored him, focusing instead on Haku. The boy inclined his head slightly, and he slowly nodded. "...I cannot speak for Zabuza-sama, but I believe he will agree."

"Wonderful." Kakashi smiled at him pleasantly, and then turned to enjoy the carnage his former foe wrought upon the irritating mob.

With the threat over, he reached up for his headband to tug it back over his left eye. No one noticed the Sharingan fade to black just before the plate covered it once more.

* * *

Later that night Sasuke sat on the deck of Tazuna's house, listening to the lingering hum of voices inside as he stared into the woods. Snow gently flittered from the sky, dusting the landscape in a thin, wispy layer of white which gave it a strange, ethereal quality. He ran his thumb over his omamori as he stared into the trees, and for the first time since this whole ordeal had started he gave himself permission to relax.

Soft footsteps padded behind him and soon enough Sakura sat next to him, letting her legs dangle over the edge as she stared into the woods. "It's pretty, isn't it?" she asked quietly, and he hummed softly in agreement. The snow would undoubtedly melt by morning, it was too thin to stick for long, but until then he decided to just sit back and enjoy the sight while he could.

Leaning forward, Sakura reached out a hand and watched a snowflake flutter into her palm, smiling softly as she brought it closer for a better look. "I used to think snowflakes were the prettiest thing in the world," she confessed quietly as she watched it melt. "When I was a kid I wished my hair was white instead of pink."

Her quiet admission caused Sasuke to flicker a curious glance at his female teammate. Sakura's name suited her well because the girl seemed to visually personify spring, with pink hair the color of cherry blossoms and crystalline green eyes the color of a freshly sprouted flower bud waiting to bloom. The idea of her with snow white hair or any other remotely wintry coloring felt _wrong_.

"Why?" he asked after a few moments, and her lips curved into a soft smile, letting her palm fall to the deck and slide over the wood.

"Because pink is so cute and girly, while white seemed so much more _mature_. Snowflakes seemed so elegant and graceful. No two snowflakes are the same, you know, each one is so complicated and gorgeous and unique. I wanted to be like that."

"What changed?" The question slipped out without thinking, surprising even Sasuke. At one time he wouldn't have cared enough to ask, but over the course of this mission he had come to respect Sakura. Though she lacked the physical strength he and Naruto possessed, she had been the one to develop most of the long-term strategies. She had been the one who figured out how to walk on trees and water with nothing more than memory and a comment from Tazuna.

Naruto may have been the one to give motivating speeches, but it had been Sakura who gave Team Seven a purpose before they could fall into despair.

The kunoichi seemed just as surprised by the fact he asked, but she quickly recovered and smiled sheepishly, turning back to the snow. "Well, I guess I realized that while snowflakes are really pretty, they melt almost right away. They can only last a long time by clumping together, and when they do that they lose their unique individuality and become a boring white blob."

Reclining back, she twiddled with the ends of her hair as she continued, "Cherry blossoms, meanwhile, are beautiful because of every individual petal. They don't mash together into a single shape, each one blows separately in the wind, each one falls in its own time. After a while snow starts to melt and becomes dirty, but even when dried and shriveled cherry blossom petals are still pretty and colorful.

"Everyone remembers the beauty of cherry blossoms," she finished softly. "But no one remembers every single snowflake."

Sasuke looked at her in faint surprise, and after a while he just slowly nodded and turned forward. A companionable silence fell over them, neither of them seeing fit to break it as they each stewed in their own thoughts. Her explanation had been surprisingly deep and profound, once again proving the girl had more depth than he usually credited to her.

Rubbing his thumb over his charm, he suddenly paused, his gaze flitting down to the blue fabric. He frowned slightly and glanced at Sakura to find her gaze trained on it, her eyes sparkling with curiosity she was too polite to actually voice aloud.

"...It's a gift, from my aunt Ryoko."

Sakura startled at his quiet words and snapped her eyes upwards to meet his in surprise, her breath visibly catching. Sasuke looked back at the amulet, holding it up a bit so she could look at it better. "This amulet. She made a bunch as a good luck charm and gave them to us. She said it looked like an omamori, but it wasn't actually one so we didn't need to throw it away at the end of the year." Lips forming a tight line, he added, "She died about two months later."

"Sasuke..." Sakura's voice became soft, offering him a sympathetic look. He didn't look at her, just rubbed the character for "Protection" written on the tag.

"I almost threw it out," he continued quietly. "Before, I mean. I didn't like the photo inside."

"Huh?" Sakura's face screwed in confusion, and with a second of hesitation he pulled on the string sealing the charm. Alarm flickered in Sakura's features as he opened it and slid out a folded photograph, but he waved a hand at her dismissively.

"Calm down. It's not an omamori, so it's not bad luck to open it." As he unfolded it, he hesitated briefly before holding it towards her. "Just... promise not to laugh."

Too curious to resist, Sakura nodded and leaned over to peer at it, and her eyes quickly widened in surprise. On the surface, it appeared to be a simple family photo of four girls wearing pretty kimonos, specifically two young children and two teenagers. However, she almost immediately recognized one of the young girls to be Uchiha Akari, and from there her eyes roved over the other "girls" to realize something.

"You're... Half of you are cross-dressing," she sputtered, too shocked to think clearly. Sure enough, a pouting Sasuke stood next to Akari wearing a pretty dark blue kimono decorated in white blossoms, while a boy with curly hair stood behind them with a giant grin, his arm slung over the shoulder of a furiously blushing, beautiful dark-haired teen.

As she struggled to process this, Sasuke couldn't help his lips quirking into a small smile. "Actually, Akari's the only girl," he corrected dryly, and Sakura stared at the photo blankly before releasing a startled squawk. For all he hated _that man_ , Sasuke couldn't help but feel amused that his teammate mistook him for a female in the photo. The pure shame the photo would cause him is the only reason Sasuke hadn't cut him out of it.

That, and the fact that he loathed the idea of cutting off Shisui's arm in the last photograph he had of his dead cousin. Shisui had died just a few days after taking it.

"How?" Sakura whispered weakly, sounding almost distraught by confusion, and Sasuke huffed a slightly bemused snort.

"I'm not sure. All I remember is Shisui suddenly appeared sputtering about Mom and Aunt Ryoko wanting to put me in a dress. Then Aunt Ryoko appeared and dragged us both back to the house, and they forced us all into kimonos and took photos." Even Akari had been slightly off-put by the endless cooing and fussing over them as the two women fussed over the four youths and how "pretty" they looked. "A week later Aunt Ryoko gave each of us a charm with it inside as a memento and threatened us not to throw it away."

Sakura just stared at him in shock, her eyes boggling in disbelief as she listened. Once he finished though she slowly leaned over, looking at it again.

"...Well, you do look pretty good," she mused thoughtfully, and Sasuke stared at her for approximately five seconds as her words processed, and then his face turned bright red.

"Wh-what?"

"I'm just saying, you didn't look that bad. A little makeup and longer hair, and you would've been prettier than Ino."

Sasuke just stared at her in horror, and she slowly raised her gaze to meet his before breaking into a shit-eating grin.

"Just kidding," she teased in a singsong voice, and laughed even as Sasuke scowled and shoved her off the deck.

* * *

 **OMAKE: _Meanwhile..._**

A large crowd of civilian armed with fishing spears, nets and hastily constructed weapons stood near the entrance of the unfinished bridge, murmuring amongst themselves in mild confusion and disgust as they viewed the spectacle before them.

Paint-splattered craters scarred the land directly in front of the bridge spanning about one hundred meters. Somewhere beyond that traces of an unspeakable stench radiated from the ground, so putrid and foul it made more than a few eyes water. Just at the foot of the bridge, they could also see something dark staining the ground alongside the shredded remains of wire.

A few men carefully navigated the strange battle-scarred landscape to check the bridge, a few of them sliding a couple feet when they stepped on the oil slicks still staining the soil. Once they reached the other side, they cautiously dispersed to examine the bridge, and the crowd held their breath as they waited for their reports.

"No one's here!" one of them hollered, and a general groan of disappointment rose from the crowd.

"Dang it!" Inari huffed as he crossed his arms with a childish scowl. He had spent the past hour trying to convince the townspeople to put aside their fear and valiantly go to the bridge to take on Gato's men and protect his grandfather, only to arrive to find the bridge empty. The crowd still buzzed with pent-up energy and justice, so the current turn of events felt rather anticlimactic and unsatisfying.

Awkward silence hovered over the crowd as they stared at the bridge, contemplating what to do. "...Screw it, let's just go attack his base instead!" someone hollered from the back of the crowd, and a roaring chorus of approval rose from the mob as they turned and stampeded away. Inari had awoken a thirst for justice, and it would not be satisfied until they had Gato's blood had been spilled.


	23. Chapter 22: Wrapping Up Nicely?

Chapter 22

* * *

 _"Looks like this story is wrapping up quite nicely. Unless someone says something that counts as foreshadowing..."  
_

* * *

Sprawled atop his bed, Masaru lazily flicked through the thick book, eyes gliding over the words without really absorbing anything. After an extended training session that ran late into the evening he had gone home exhausted but eager to continue learning, and as such he decided to peruse some of the books he'd taken from his mother's study.

While he never knew Ryoko as a kunoichi, the books she'd amassed suggested she possessed an incredibly diverse array of skills for an Uchiha. Even as a child he knew she served as a bit of an eye doctor for the Uchiha clan, and her vast collection of books and handwritten research notes on the Sharingan served as testimony to this. Yet for every document she had on their clan's history and doujutsu, ten more seemed to exist on a variety of other subjects.

Scrolls bearing the symbols of other villages and showing various elemental jutsu, most likely pilfered from fallen foes. Textbooks dedicated to the interactions between various poisons and the human body. Copies of complex speculative theses by various figures on the nature of the chakra. Old journals recounting sightings of now-extinct kekkei genkai. Uchiha Ryoko seemed to have at least one document on every topic a shinobi might need in the field.

Above all else though, her favorite subject seemed to be fuinjutsu. Complex diagrams featuring intricately scripted designs filled the pages, with small notes scribbled in the margins pointing out the various facets of the seals displayed and voicing her own theories and ideas on variations. His finger traced over the neatly handwritten characters, his features softening as he stared at the familiar script of his mother's hand.

Masaru suspected a fuinjutsu master would find her notes incredibly useful, but seeing as he couldn't understand a word of the complex technical jargon and long formulas, he couldn't be sure. Still, he found her familiar handwriting strangely comforting.

The sound of the front door opening caught his attention, and he snapped his head over his shoulder in alarm. Within seconds he'd leaped off the bed and pressed against the wall by his open door, a kunai sliding into his hand. His heart thudded as he listened intently, ready to pounce at a moment's notice.

"Masaru, I'm back," a familiar voice called, and Masaru perked up as all tension faded, a giant grin lighting up his face as he rushed into the hall. Sasuke stood in the entrance of the apartment, dropping his backpack on the kitchen counter. Surprisingly, he hadn't come alone, as Naruto and Sakura also joined him in depositing bags on the counter.

"Hey, Masaru!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, flashing him one of his sunlight-incarnate grins. "Man, it feels like it's been ages since we last saw each other!"

Sakura offered a more demure smile, looking almost sheepish as she waved at him. "Hope you don't mind us coming over unannounced. Naruto didn't want to go back to his apartment alone, and my parents are out of town at a friend's wedding right now so I'd be going home to an empty house too."

Still slightly surprised by their presences, he blinked and quickly shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm just surprised, I guess?" Shrugging, he asked, "So how was the mission?" The trio stiffened slightly at the question, exchanging pointed glances.

"You might want to sit down," Sasuke advised solemnly, and with that Team Seven launched into a recounting of their glorious escapades in Wave.

* * *

It had been one of the stranger debriefings of Hiruzen's tenure as Hokage.

Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Shikaku stood behind him as he sat at his desk, their stances casual and relaxed but their eyes calculating as they listened to Kakashi recount his experiences in captivity. To the side Hyuuga Hiashi watched the Copy-nin intently, veins bulging around his eyes as he monitored his chakra with the Byakugan, while Tenzo stood behind his former captain as a silent but supportive presence.

"He kept insisting we used to work together," Kakashi commented once he finished his tale. "The only sensible conclusion I can reach is that he's a former Leaf ninja, but one who's listed as dead. He never gave me any solid hints to his identity though."

"If he truly considered himself an ally, he wouldn't have concealed his identity," Hiashi decided aloud. "The fact that he refused to identify himself is strong evidence that he has no loyalty to Konoha."

"I don't think it's that simple," Kakashi replied, frowning under his mask. "The way he spoke, I get the impression that he feels his life would be endangered if specific parties in Konoha learned he's alive. That's why I asked to keep the specifics of the encounter under wraps until a more thorough investigation could be done."

"That still suggests he considers Konoha a threat, though," Inoichi murmured, but his teammate huffed a small sigh and folded his arms.

"Not exactly," Shikaku said. "There are definitely individual factions in Konoha with different agendas than the Hokage or general population. I can think of a few scenarios where someone could be loyal to the village. For example..."

His eyes roved about the room, landing on the Hyuuga clan leader. "Let's imagine a member of the Hyuuga's Branch house found a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal. They have nothing against Konoha, but by staying in the village they'll inevitably be discovered and forced to have it put back, or possibly even get executed. So to avoid that, they fake their death. If the Hyuuga clan ever learned of their survival, they would lobby the Hokage to send a search party to apprehend the man as a traitor to the village."

"Ah, do you really want to use that kind of example in front of the Hyuuga clan's leader?" Tenzo muttered, awkwardly rocking on his feet while darting a glance in the ever-stern man's direction.

"It is fine," Hiashi informed him crisply. "In my opinion, Nara-san poses an incredibly valid and plausible example, and it is in fact a scenario my clan has considered many times in the past. It is why we insist so heavily on evidence of a member's death in the events where bodies cannot be recovered."

"Actually, I think that example aligns quite closely with my own theory," Kakashi murmured, and the gathered ninja leveled keen looks on him. The Hokage frowned as he hunched forward, steepling his fingers under his chin.

"You believe the man to be a survivor of the Uchiha," he stated quietly, voicing the words on everyone's mind.

"I do," Kakashi confirmed just as quietly.

Grave silence fell once more as they considered the implications of the possibility, and why he would not want Konoha to know of his existence. Behind him Hiruzen could feel Shikaku's keen gaze boring into his back, and to the side Hiashi also offered him a knowing look. Hiruzen didn't react to them, closing his eyes as he mulled over the situation.

When he'd read the first report that had been delivered by one of Kakashi's ninken three days ago, his mind had instantly reached the same conclusion as the Copy-nin. And from there his first thought naturally went to Danzou. If an Uchiha _had_ survived the massacre, then Danzou would undoubtedly try to eliminate them. The mere fact they considered Konoha dangerous would suggest they knew too much for his old friend's comfort.

" _You're too soft,_ " echoed a long-gone voice in his head. " _Right now people are suffering because you are turning a blind eye to the actions of your so-called friends! At this rate, innocent blood will spill and Konoha will suffer because of_ your _inaction!_ "

Hiruzen kept his thoughts to himself, unwilling to share his suspicions with anyone present and instead letting them stew on their own contemplations. Clearly Tenzo did not like the conclusions he drew, because his face twisted in discomfort and he spoke up feebly. "We don't have absolute proof that it's an Uchiha. Kakashi never got a look at his face thanks to that mask. And even if he does turn out to have the Sharingan, it could easily be implanted."

"All the same, I don't know how many non-Uchiha could fit those qualifications," Shikaku remarked calmly. "Kakashi said that before the procedure, his captor consulted several notebooks, and I would bet my life that they belonged to Uchiha Ryoko. She showed me her research a few times, and she put seals on a lot of her more sensitive notes. It's impossible to read them unless you have your chakra keyed into it _and_ know the proper sequence of hand seals to deactivate them."

"So in other words, whoever kidnapped Kakashi would have to be someone Ryoko trusted," Inoichi reasoned. "That should lower the number of suspects, so it's a start."

"It does," the Hokage agreed. Ever neutral and pragmatic, he continued, "However, that is only assuming the notes did belong to Ryoko. We cannot absolutely eliminate the possibility of it being another party."

"I think Ryoko's the most logical option though," Kakashi interjected, casually reaching for his hitai-ate and sliding it upwards to expose his implanted eye. "I can't think of anyone else who would have access to the resources and possess the knowledge necessary to figure out how to do _this_."

As he spoke the three tomoe of the Sharingan rapidly expanded and clouded his eye, shading the distinct blood red iris an inky and dormant black.

* * *

"And so then the townsfolk raided Gato's place and set it on fire!" Naruto finished with an enthusiastic grin, slurping ramen noodles happily. Masaru just stared at him in mild shock, his mind whirling. Team Seven had spent the past two hours regaling him with their escapades in Wave over cups of instant ramen, and to call it overwhelming would be an understatement. Between Kakashi getting kidnapped and their unusual strategy to employ Naruto clones for everything, they had quite the C-rank mission.

"And I thought working with Ino was bad," he mumbled, sagging in his seat. Sakura perked up at the mention of her best friend, looking at him curiously.

"You worked with Ino?" she asked, and the brunette nodded glumly, making her smile apologetically. "Sorry about that, she can be a bit... forward." Masaru raised a single eyebrow at her, his face silently projecting ' _A bit?_ ' with visible sarcasm. "Okay, a lot. I'll... try to work with her on it." Sakura turned back to her food but suddenly paused. "Hold on a second. If you're allowed to work with Team Ten, then does that mean you might work with our team?"

The question gave the other three genin pause, staring at the lone female blankly as the gears turned in their heads. Then Naruto leaped up with a loud cheer, pumping a fist into the air. "Hell yeah! I don't even care if it's pulling weeds, running a mission with Masaru will be awesome!"

"That's only if our sensei agree to it," Sasuke pointed out flatly, and Naruto nearly crashed to the ground. "According to Kakashi we got ahead of most of the other genin thanks to Sakura figuring out how to walk on trees with chakra, and we're moving on to elemental jutsu after we get down water walking. So they might want to have Team Seven work on our own a bit until Masaru can catch up some more."

"Oh, right." Naruto sank into his chair with a dejected groan, not even the half-full cups of instant ramen able to lift his mood. Masaru, however, seemed strangely thoughtful as he gazed at his empty bowl, something Sakura didn't miss.

"...Masaru?" she ventured, startling the boy. "Are you okay?" Masaru blinked at her before scratching the side of his face, his lips quirking into a small smile.

"...I, uh, already learned to walk on water from Gaku-sensei," he admitted sheepishly, and the trio of genin snapped sharp looks at him.

"Wait, what!?" Naruto blurted, jaw dropping. "No fair! I mean, that's awesome, but, Kakashi-sensei didn't help a bit!"

"He probably would have soon?" Shrugging, he continued, "The only reason Gaku-sensei taught me is because he wanted to teach me something other than the basics. Most early genin training is just building up teamwork, and I can't really do that without a team. Walking on trees and water helps build your chakra reserves faster than doing the leaf exercise, too, and that's one of our main goals right now."

"That makes a lot of sense," Sasuke muttered thoughtfully, and shrugged as he picked up his chopsticks again. "I half-expected you to say you got it from your mom's books."

"His mom's books?" Books never failed to capture Sakura's attention, and Masaru nodded at her.

"Yeah, she had books on a lot of stuff and I keep a bunch in my bedroom. I can't even understand all of them though." Pausing as he noticed the bright sparkle in her eyes, he hesitantly offered, "Um, I can show you some of them if you want...?"

"Yes, please!" Sakura chirped cheerily, and before he could say another word she'd leaped up from the table and dragged him away. Masaru felt his face heat up as they entered his bedroom because _holy crap, he had a girl in his room_. A girl. With no blood relation. In his bedroom. _His_ room.

While he discreetly assessed the space to make sure none of his underwear was on the floor or anything, the source of his current state of distress remained oblivious to the turmoil she caused as Sakura's gaze instead trained on his bookshelf. Mouth falling open in awe at the sheer number of volumes lining the shelves, she glanced around the room and quickly strode to his bed, picking up the book lying there.

"Offensive Applications for Fuinjutsu?" she read aloud as she glanced at the cover. Opening it, she flipped through the pages and her eyebrows quickly knitted together. "This is all really complicated. Can you understand any of this?"

"I don't understand any of her fuinjutsu books," Masaru informed her blandly, a bit calmer now that he'd determined his room to be void of any embarrassing messes. The reference to the book stirred his memory though, his eyes wandering to the map behind her. Following his gaze, Sakura released a small gasp and quickly closed the book, a look of awe on her face as she viewed the map.

"Woah, this is beautiful," she breathed, and Masaru smiled slightly as he joined her.

"Yeah. My mom painted it." Climbing onto his bed, he leaned over and traced the black markings bordering the illustration. "These markings are some kind of seals, but I don't know what they do. I only noticed it recently. I was actually going to try to activate them right before you guys arrived."

"Wait, wouldn't that be dangerous?" Sakura questioned, frowning. "I mean, for all you know it could be like a really complicated explosive tag."

"Maybe, but... I don't think so? My mom had a lot of issues, but she wouldn't spend hours painting something just to add a seal that'd destroy it." The young kunoichi frowned slightly as she studied the map, but after a while she shrugged.

"Well, in that case, let's give it a shot." Surprised to hear her approval, Masaru glanced at her in mild shock before smiling and turning back. Placing his palm on the center of the illustration, he flared his chakra and let it seep into the paper, quickly retracting his hand. The genin held their breaths as they watched it.

Nothing happened.

Sagging in disappointment, they released quiet sighs of disappointment only to freeze at a loud shout from Naruto. " _Teme, your butt's glowing!_ "

Exchanging startled looks, Sakura and Masaru quickly raced out of his room to find Naruto crouched on a wall and pointing at Sasuke with a look of shock. The normally stoic Uchiha twisted his head to look at his backside in disbelief and sure enough, a blue light emanated from one of his back pockets. He quickly reached into it and pulled out the pseudo-omamori, revealing a bright blue light emanating from the character for "protection".

"What the hell!?" he sputtered, looking just as shocked as Masaru felt. Next to him Sakura's throat went dry, her eyes widening as comprehension suddenly flickered in them.

"...Sasuke, flare it with chakra!" she told him, and he shot her a quizzical look.

"What the hell are you—"

"Hurry! Before it fades!" Still confused and skeptical, Sasuke frowned but after a moment he did as told, and the light flashed gold before fading. Even as he did it Sakura spun and raced back to Masaru's room, the trio of males quickly following after her.

Any questions died on their lips as they entered just in time to see a gold light suddenly pulse in the central character at the bottom of the map. Rippling along the seals in a counter-clockwise motion around the map, the glow briefly flashed blue as it surged up the right side. A blue light flickered into existence atop the stylized leaf representing Konoha, the kanji for "protection" appearing next to it.

* * *

 **Hey guys, with this the Wave arc is over and a new mystery appears! I might post a chapter full of omakes this weekend though, not sure yet. We'll see.** **By the way, if you're looking for another fun OC-centric fic that's not an SI, I recommend "Ain't no rest for the wicked" by LazuliQuetzal. It's a time travel fic about an ANBU cannon fodder, and it's actually one of the fan fics which inspired me to write Echoes of Light (despite having totally different premises). I highly recommend it, it's a great read. You can find it in my profile under my favorites!**


	24. Chapter 23: Just One Person

Chapter 23

* * *

 _"This world is full of so many injustices. I'm one person so I can't do much, I don't expect to be able to revolutionize everything. But I'll make sure I make as much of an impact as I can."_

* * *

Mornings usually found Sarutobi Hiruzen in his office, religiously sipping from a mug of coffee to give him energy. Nothing pained him more than the tedious nature of paperwork, a sentiment which took on a literal meaning since he often found himself contemplating if he had time to call a chiropractor to aid his aching back.

Today, however, his back got a rare reprieve from its regularly arched posture, as instead of his stuffy office he found himself starting his day in the apartment of a certain genin.

Masaru shifted uncomfortably as the leader of his village and a veritable God of Shinobi stood in his bedroom, peering at the map hanging over his bed with piercing scrutiny. Tenzo and Kakashi stood at attention behind him, present as extra security in place of Hiruzen's usual ANBU guard unit. Sasuke clutched his pseudo-omamori with a tight grip as they watched their leader press a wrinkled hand on the map, pumping a small burst of chakra into the seals lining it.

Bright blue light emanated from the charm almost immediately, and upon receiving a nod Sasuke flared his own chakra. The assembled shinobi watched as the central character of the seals bordering the illustration pulsed with a golden glow. It quickly surged through the seals, causing a bead of blue light to appear over Konoha with the kanji for "protection" next to it.

Hiruzen huffed a small sigh, his lips pressing together in a wry smirk. "Very clever, Ryoko. Very clever."

"Lord Hokage?" Tenzo pressed, watching his leader with a concerned frown.

"Do you know what's going on?" Masaru asked, sounding understandably antsy. He'd had the map hanging above his bed for nearly five years, and he'd only recently discovered it had some secret use. Hiruzen turned to face the genin with a gentle smile, his eyes twinkling with mild amusement. Educating the future generations of Konoha had always been one of his greatest passions in life, so he did not waste the opportunity presented in front of him.

"This map is inscribed with a portion of an advanced location seal," he explained. "As far as I can tell, it operates using two parts, the map and a second object inscribed with a companion seal to link the pair—namely, the charm Sasuke owns. When someone activates the seal on the map, it will send a signal to the companion seal through their connection. Upon getting a response, the location of the charm will show up on the map, allowing the user to trace its location.

"However," he added, turning back to eye the glowing blue dot, "Seeing as it only showed on the map when Sasuke activated the companion seal, the seal clearly requires manual activation. That way, the owner of the object inscribed with it can choose whether or not to share their location."

Frowning thoughtfully, Sasuke asked, "So basically, the charm can be used to track someone's movements on the map using seals, but it only works if someone activates the second seal?"

"Exactly." Hiruzen nodded with a pleased smile, but it quickly faded as he turned back to the map, eying the fading dot. Given the nature of the seal, Ryoko most likely gave the trigger objects to people who she cared about, which fit in with her naturally worrisome nature. Knowing her, the secondary seal likely also had a function that allowed the user to send a distress signal that would show their location on the map.

The utilities of such a creation already filled him with anticipation and it bothered him slightly that she never informed him of it, but he couldn't hold it against her. Ryoko had grown increasingly withdrawn after retiring, spending more time at home and diverting most of her energies to painting or studying. He suspected she developed this seal in the wake of the deaths of Obito and Ryuusuke, most likely around the time the twins entered the academy in anticipation of their eventual shinobi careers.

By that time relations between the village and her clan had soured, and he knew her own faith in his leadership had diminished greatly.

 _"You're too soft," she accused Hiruzen, her black eyes boring into him with an intensity that rivaled even her clan's vaunted doujutsu. "Minato was willing to sacrifice everything for the village, even take the risk of making his newborn son a pariah by sealing the Kyuubi into him. Meanwhile, what do you do? You allow a decades-dead friendship to take precedence over the village! You let one of the most notorious and vile criminals to ever walk this planet escape just because you used to teach him!"_

 _Jabbing a finger at his face, her features twisted into a snarl blazing with absolute rage and fury as she roared, "Right now people are suffering because you are turning a blind eye to the actions of your so-called friends! At this rate, innocent blood will spill and Konoha will suffer because of_ your _inaction! If you're allowed to be selfish, then I don't see any reason I should have to just stand by and sacrifice everything for the greater good!"_

"It... doesn't make any sense."

Masaru's quiet mumble drew Hiruzen out of his reminiscing, and he turned to regard the boy with sharp focus. Kakashi and Tenzo also leveled keen gazes on him, and the boy wilted slightly under their combined scrutiny. Seeing his discomfort, Hiruzen softened his own expression and made sure to keep his voice as gentle as possible. "What was that, Masaru-kun?"

The young Uchiha frowned, fidgeting slightly as he averted his gaze. "It's just... A few days ago, I thought I saw a white light," he explained hesitantly. "That's what made me notice there were seals. I-I don't know if I actually saw it though!" he added hastily when the adults' gazes sharpened, waving his hands in a placating manner. "It could have been my imagination! A-and I don't remember seeing any kanji, either!"

Lips pressing in a firm frown, Hiruzen slowly turned back to the map. "Masaru," he said, and the boy stiffened, staring at him anxiously. "Where do you think you saw it?" The child frowned slightly at the question, but his tense posture relaxed slightly and he stepped towards the map.

"I don't know the name, but I think it was... There." He pointed to an island, and Hiruzen eyed it speculatively before his eyes widened in shock. Quickly schooling his expression back to its previous stern facade, he glanced over his shoulder at Kakashi and Tenzo. From the looks in their eyes, he knew they recognized it too.

Masaru had pointed to the Land of Waves.

 _And so the mystery deepens,_ he mused morbidly as he glanced at the two genin. Fortunately Sasuke hadn't seemed to recognize the country without a label, and just looked mildly curious. "Masaru-kun, would you mind if I borrow this for a while?" Hiruzen asked. "I'd like to take a closer look at it and see if I can figure out how it works."

"I guess so," Masaru agreed with a shrug, and Hiruzen nodded to Tenzo, who stepped forward and carefully lifted the map off the wall.

"I'm guessing you'll want this too, right?" Sasuke asked, holding up the charm for the Hokage to see.

"It would help," he allowed. The Uchiha visibly wavered on what to do, but eventually he held out the charm in permission. Hiruzen took it from his hand carefully, handling it gently to show he meant no harm. "Just so you know, we'll have to open it to examine it more thoroughly." Sasuke hesitated, but then nodded.

"...That's fine," he replied after a moment's thought. "It's not really an omamori, so it's not like it'd be bad luck. Just... don't laugh."

Shooting him a quizzical look, Hiruzen waited a few moments before deciding he wouldn't elaborate. "I'll take very good care of both of these, and have them returned as soon as possible. I am sure both items matter to you very much." The boys nodded in unison, and he allowed a faint smile to grace his features.

He offered a few final parting words before taking his leave, gesturing for the jounin to follow. As they left all three noticed Masaru's gaze flicker towards Kakashi, but none commented on it. Once in the safety of the hallway, they silently initiated a body-flicker and quickly reconvened in the Hokage's office. Tenzo leaned the map against the desk while Hiruzen closed the door, flaring his chakra to activate the privacy seals inscribed on the walls.

"What do you want to bet that white light had some sort of connection to my 'old friend'?" Kakashi asked. Hiruzen just sighed, sinking into his chair tiredly.

"Frankly, I think even Tsunade would win that bet," he murmured, resisting the urge to massage his forehead as he mulled over the latest revelation. Between the map and Kakashi's comments about seeing the masked man holding notebooks before the procedure, Hiruzen had no doubt that the man possessed some kind of connection to Ryoko.

The question was whether or not he could be considered an ally or enemy.

* * *

Within an hour of leaving the Hokage's office, Kakashi found himself in front of the memorial like he did every morning, his lone visible eye tracing the familiar names once more.

He always had a lot on his mind when he visited, but today that applied more so than usual. This morning's events certainly gave a lot to think about, but even if they hadn't discovered the connection he would still wonder. His meeting with the Hokage after sending the genin home the previous night still hung fresh in his mind, the conversation seared into his memory with a clarity offered normally by the Sharingan.

So much had gone unsaid in that meeting. The Hokage had placed a gag order on the subject of the man and restricted the occupants of the room from telling anyone what had been discussed. Naturally they could not omit Kakashi's capture entirely, as that posed a serious threat, but they didn't want word to get around about what exactly transpired during his captivity. Not even the Hokage's own advisors would be given the full version.

Whatever procedure had been performed allowed him to deactivate the Sharingan at will, just like a natural-born user of the doujutsu. If word got out such a procedure existed, the dangers to Sasuke and Masaru would be unfathomable, because that drain had been the leading drawback discouraging Sharingan theft. At this point, Kakashi honestly had no idea how to classify his captor.

"I wish I could tell you what happened, Obito," he commented softly, his hunched posture reflecting his regret as he stared at his old friend's name. "I wonder what you'd think about it."

He didn't voice the underlying question that had been haunting him since the previous night—no, since the first day he stood free of the restraints. _Do you already know?_

He couldn't stop thinking of that mask, bright red like the Sharingan and painted with a starburst around a single eye hole. The right eye... His hand unconsciously reached for his hitai-ate, brushing the edge of the metal plate just above his left eye.

For the first time in years, he didn't feel the constant drain of Obito's gift, a subtle draw on his chakra so constant he never even noticed it until it had suddenly vanished. Somehow, it became even more painful to look in the mirror without the familiar crimson iris, because the black eye brought back so many more memories. Memories of a dark-haired boy with a sunny smile and bright dreams for the future, a person Kakashi never appreciated until it became too late.

Somewhere out there, the eye's companion could still exist. Perhaps in a shattered skull, crushed under dozens of boulders. Or maybe... Maybe behind a mask, hidden in shadows as its owner prowled the streets in broad daylight—

 _No. Don't think about it._

Pushing away the thought with a heavy sigh, he turned his head to glance over his shoulder. "Hey," he greeted quietly, raising a hand in a lazy two-finger wave. His visible eye crinkled in a half-hearted smile, fully aware that it probably rang false even with only a few inches of his face visible. "Funny seeing you here. This isn't exactly your normal stomping grounds."

Uchiha Masaru just stood in silence towards the edge of the field, his gaze averted to the ground and his mouth pulled into a small frown. Kakashi let his arm fall to his side and turned back to the memorial, his face growing somber once more. He could hear the boy's soft footsteps quietly pad closer, coming to a halt next to him but still not looking at him. For a while neither of them spoke, just gazing at the long list of names engraved into the stone.

"You're here for Uncle Obito, aren't you." The question came out soft and thoughtful, not quite a whisper but still rather quiet. Kakashi turned his head slightly to regard the boy, letting a few moments pass before he answered.

"I am." He had expected Masaru to connect the dots and confront him after hearing about his Sharingan. Akari had clearly worshipped Obito as a hero, speaking of him in only the most reverent tones, and based on his observations Masaru felt similarly. From what he knew, the kid spent almost as much time talking to Obito as he did.

For half a second Kakashi expected angry accusations to start flying, tearful curses for leaving Obito to die, but then he realized that didn't really fit Masaru's personality. Unlike his hot-headed cousin Sasuke, Masaru had never been prone to rage and fury when confronted with grief and loss. Instead, he just seemed... sad. Withdrawing into himself, radiating a quiet sadness that gave him a somber air.

Sure enough, when Kakashi darted a glance in his direction he found the boy just bowing his head, not even looking at the memorial anymore. Before he could think of something to say, Masaru suddenly lurched towards him and wrapped his arms around his side.

Eye widening as he staggered back under the force of the embrace, Kakashi stared at him dumbly for a moment, his mouth floundering beneath his mask as he searched for words. "...What?" he finally managed, and the arms tightened their hold, Masaru burying his face into his side.

"...Mom said if we ever met Obito's teammate, we should hug him," he mumbled, his voice muffled by the fabric of Kakashi's shirt. "She said you've been through too much, and you'd let your guard down if you ever realized one of us knew, so we should take our chance then."

Stunned, Kakashi couldn't really think of a response and so he just stood there dumbly while letting the kid embrace him. Ryoko... She really never did stop caring, did she? Flashes of elegant handwriting surged through his mind, her final letter summoned to the forefront of his thoughts unbidden.

' _You could have come to me, you know. When Obito died, you could have visited. I would have looked at it. I would have helped you. I spent a lot of time researching transplants, I had a pretty good idea on how to help you. I was waiting for you to come to me, Kakashi. The clan would not let me go to you and offer help unless you asked, but I honestly didn't care what this clan thought. I wanted you to be the one to take the first step, to gather the courage to push past your insecurities and seek help on your own._ '

He breathed a small sigh through his nose, and awkwardly placed a hand on Masaru's head. The boy stiffened slightly in surprise but then tightened his hold, and the pair lingered like that for a few moments before Masaru finally pulled away. Rubbing his eyes, he seemed to bury his palms into his lids, an obvious coping mechanism of some sort.

"...Did it hurt?" he whispered, so faintly Kakashi would have barely caught it without his enhanced hearing. "His... his eye. Does, does it ever hurt? To... use it?"

Kakashi hesitated to answer, but he knew that if he didn't it might undo the progress they'd made. _Progress on what?_ some part of his brain quipped, but he ignored it as he settled for, "Sometimes. Not as much as the first time, though. The first time is always hardest, I think."

He heard a loud sniff as Masaru's shoulders jerked, signaling an impending bout of crying. His hands lowered from his eyes as tears started to streak down his cheeks, sucking in a shaky breath as he wiped them away.

"Y-yeah," he croaked, his body giving a single tremor as he bit back a sob. "It... it does, doesn't it?" His eyes opened and Kakashi felt his breath catch. Two bright red irises stared back at him, two commas orbiting each pupil for a total of four.

Swallowing down his surprise, Kakashi schooled his face into a more sympathetic expression as he looked at the teary boy in front of him. He had suspected Masaru had activated his Sharingan but hadn't been aware of it, but the way the boy revealed it _now_ —the knowing reference to the initial pain, a pain deeper than just physical suffering—it caught him off guard. His words to Tenzo back in that bar came rushing back, and Kakashi knew then he'd been wrong about one thing.

Masaru had been aware of his Sharingan the entire time.

His stomach churned at the thought, recalling Ryoko's words about the nature of the doujutsu came rushing back, how it came with a price. _Please, please let me be wrong about_ that _too..._

"...When did it happen?" he asked gently, because he _had_ to know, and Masaru sniffled, wiping away more tears.

That silent plea went unanswered, as Masaru's response shattered any hopes. "...Wh-when I was eight. During... the massacre."

* * *

A cloaked figure lounged on a tree branch overlooking a creek, a dark red omamori resting in his palm. Bright light emanated from the kanji inscribed on the attached tag for the third time in twenty-four hours, and his lips curled into a rueful smirk as he noted the character.

"Such a cruel choice," he mused aloud. A loud splash sounded below and a blue man surfaced from the water, clutching a large, wildly flopping fish by the tail at arm's length.

"Itachi-kun, did you say something?" he man called, and the Uchiha clan killer shifted his eyes to his partner, his expression aloof and impassive as ever.

"Just thinking aloud," he replied idly, and on a whim he flared his chakra into the charm before the light could fade. He knew somewhere in Konoha a red bead of light would suddenly appear on the map in a corner of the Land of Earth, with the most ironic of kanji flashing next to it:

' _Innocent_ '

* * *

 **A/N: Here it is, confirmation Masaru has the Sharingan.** If you take a look at the massacre in Chapter 6, I left subtle hints he activated it there. To be specific, he activated it when Itachi threatened Akari, which is hinted by Itachi's reaction and the increased amount of detail used to describe his features.

There is so much I have to say about this chapter, but I don't want to ramble or risk spoiling anything. We get a _serious_ look into Ryoko's personality and history, I just gave you two pretty big hints about her past activities and her involvement with the clan.

Anyways, as always, please leave a review! I'd love to hear your guys' speculation on everything revealed this time.

 **One more thing! I added an omake to the end of Chapter 21.** I actually meant to add it all along, but it just totally slipped my mind. It's a fun little scene about the mob that went to help out on the bridge, and I like it too much to leave it out.


	25. Chapter 24: Funny Old Men

Chapter 24

* * *

 _"Respect your elders. They may seem outdated and stubborn in their ways, but some of them can be absolutely hilarious when paired with the right straight man. But if they're not funny and show strong signs of corruption, then **burn them with fire**."_

* * *

Naruto groaned in disappointment as he held up an orange t-shirt, staring sullenly at the large reddish-brown stain marring the center. "Dang it, I really liked this one," he groaned, balling it up and throwing it into a hamper.

"Less whining, more cleaning," Sakura scolded, rolling her eyes as she swept a bunch of empty cups off the counter and into a trash bag. Naruto grumbled but complied, scowling the entire time.

Two days ago their recovery period from the Wave mission ended, and instead of training Team Seven, Kakashi got permission to take Sasuke and Masaru on a special three-day retreat. Now that they'd confirmed Masaru had the Sharingan, Kakashi wanted to devote some time to helping both boys hone their dojutsu.

At first Naruto had been a _little_ jealous, but then he saw the panicked and dreadful looks on both his friends' faces as Kakashi dragged them to the gates, and he decided maybe he wouldn't mind. Three days wouldn't be that long, and besides, he could do all kinds of stuff. Maybe catch up with some of the other rookies, or better yet, learn some super-cool secret techniques on his own that would knock them all away!

Unfortunately, Sakura insisted on using the time to clean his apartment, and she wouldn't take no for an answer. Even now she wrinkled her nose as she lifted a wad of brownish fabric from the kitchen counter, daintily gripping the corners even with two layers of rubber gloves shielding her hands. "What is this?" she grumbled, grimacing in mild disgust.

Then the wad wavered and unfolded, revealing a distinct underwear shape.

Ten seconds of utter silence followed as they stared at it. Then Sakura lightly released her grip and let it flutter to the ground, closing her eyes with a small breath.

"NARUTOOOOO!"

And so Naruto found himself with multiple large lumps on his head, forced to clean his apartment on his own at the threat of receiving even more. Grumbling under his breath as he scrubbed the floors, he dropped the rag in the bucket and sank back onto his haunches with a sigh, rubbing the tender lumps. "Stupid Sakura," he mumbled sullenly, closing his eyes. "My apartment's totally fine!"

" **It's really not.** "

Naruto froze as a deep, booming voice echoed around him, and his eyes snapped open to find himself knee-deep in the sewers in his mind. Red eyes glowed in the darkness behind the towering bars, jagged white teeth glittering in nonexistent light. " **Your den is a mess, brat,** " the Kyuubi continued. " **Your teammate is right in making you clean it.** "

"Wh-what the—Don't tell me you pulled me in here to lecture me on my cleaning habits!" Naruto exploded, gawking at the giant fox in disbelief. The Kyuubi harrumphed dismissively, eyes narrowing to leer at his jailor with clear disdain.

" **I am. In case your forgot, your seal allows me to see what you see. And seeing your pigsty of a den when I wake up from a nap makes me want to vomit.** "

Naruto just sputtered in shock, and the fox snorted as it turned its head away. Apparently even the Kyuubi had standards, and Naruto did not meet them. It really shouldn't matter to him, because, well, it was the Kyuubi and he should hate it and all that. But, well...

 _Dammit,_ you _try ignoring the giant living construct of hatred imprisoned inside you!_

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto opened his eyes as he returned to reality, and proceeded to scrub the floors with renewed vigor. As he stood up and wiped his brow a spot of purple caught his eye, and he turned to see a thick black wristband sitting on his kitchen counter. For a moment he stared at it blankly, wondering where it came from. Then he noticed a patch with an orange swirl sewn into it, and his eyes widened in recognition.

"Hey, that looks like the swirl on my back!" Picking it up, he turned it over and noted a white patch sewn onto the other side, the kanji for " _Hokage_ " embroidered into it, making him grin. "Hell yeah! This was _totally_ made for me!" Slipping it onto his wrist, he turned it over to admire it and then paused. "Hold on a second, where'd this thing come from?"

The wristband had definitely _not_ been there earlier. Naruto should probably take it off until he figured out how it got there, but it looked so cool on his wrist... "Oh! I know!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Sakura-chan must have left it!" Of course! Sakura had been standing by the counter earlier. She must have gotten it as a gift, but forgot to mention it after getting angry when she accidentally picked up his underwear.

Reassured, he grinned at the bracelet but it quickly fell, replaced by surprise. Hold on... Sakura got him a gift? That never happened before, Naruto couldn't even remember the last time someone got him a present. Sudden warmth blossomed in his chest, his smile returning much softer. He should go thank her right now, but he didn't know where she lived. Remembering her vivid descriptions of her parents'... unique dynamic, he suppressed a shudder and decided he probably wouldn't want to go there anyway.

"Okay, let's see," he muttered, crossing his arms. "Sakura-chan is really close to that girl that scares Masaru, so I could give it to her. But I don't know where she lives." Nor did he know Ino's family owned a flower shop, so he couldn't go there either. "Um... Would Sasuke-teme know?" Probably not, and he was out of town with Kakashi anyway.

 ** _Meanwhile..._**

Sasuke and Masaru dived to the side as a pack of dogs lunged towards them, their faces showing blatant panic. "How the hell does this help with the Sharingan!?" Masaru stammered, tomoe whirling wildly as his Sharingan attempted to track the dogs' movements.

"Improves your reflexes," Kakashi called cheerfully, lounging on a branch and turning a page in his book. "And gets you experience with tracking multiple moving targets, too. Hey, Pakkun, if you guys keep it up for another hour I'll give you all steak tonight."

"You heard the boss!" a pug barked, and the dogs launched at the Uchiha boys with renewed fervor.

 ** _Back with Naruto..._**

"Okay, so she might be friends with Hinata-chan, and I know where the Hyuuga live, but, I dunno," Naruto mumbled, scratching his head. "I never really saw them together, and Hinata's dad seems kinda scary. I could go to Jiijii, 'cause he knows everything, but... This is really small so I think that would just be wasting his time?" Thinking it over, he nodded and decided, "Yeah, he's got more important stuff to do. And Iruka-sensei would get really mad if I interrupt his class, so he's out."

Having run out of options, he thought back to Sakura's departure. Hadn't she mumbled something about taking a bath? Maybe she'd be at the onsen then! Mind settled, he grabbed his jacket and set out. Deciding to go by rooftop like a _real_ ninja, Naruto made his way across town with a cheeky grin, the wristband's presence ever constant on his mind as he pondered how to approach her.

Now, he could use his Sexy Jutsu and go into the girl's bath to thank her, but then he realized that Sakura would be pissed and beat him up. So he'd do the smart thing and ask the hostess to check for a pink-haired girl, and if so ask her to come out so he could thank her. Then she'd praise him for _not_ being an idiot and trying to sneak into the girl's bath like a pervert, and then he and Sakura could go out for ramen on a date! Perfect! Nothing could go wrong!

Grinning in smug satisfaction at his genius (totally one-track) and infallible (totally fallible) logic, he jumped to the ground to walk the final stretch towards the onsen. However, as he neared the corner of the fence surrounding the building he heard a low, masculine giggle, making him hesitate. Eyes narrowing, he quietly crept forward and carefully poked his head around the corner.

A white-haired man crouched next to the fence, a goofy smile on his face as he peered into a hole with a loud giggle.

Staring at him blankly, Naruto felt his eye twitch. _Was he... was he peeping into the women's bath?_ "HEY! OLD MAN!" he roared, startling the pervert who whirled around with a shout.

"What the—what're you doing, kid?!" he stammered, scowling at Naruto. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Busy what?" Naruto repeated loudly, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. "Peeping?" On the other side of the fence, the small assortment of women sitting around the pool stared at the direction of the voices, and promptly cleared out with horrified shrieks. Hearing this, the man spun around and peeked through the hole, groaning in dismay at the empty room.

"Oh, come on! My research is totally ruined!"

" _What kind of research involves peeping!?_ " Naruto jumped at the familiar yell and spun to see Sakura standing next to them with her arms crossed, her left eye twitching. Water dripped from her hair to the ground, her red dress slightly damp.

"Woah, so I was actually right about you being here?!" he blurted, stunned to see her. Because while he was totally a genius, he hadn't actually expected to be right about her being at the onsen. Sakura shot him a glance and seemed like she wanted to say something, but decided to focus on the pervert instead.

"Answer me you damn pervert!" she snapped, her eyes burning into the old man. The corner of the man's mouth twitched into a smile, huffing a small snort.

"Well, if you must know," he replied, reaching into his vest, "I'm a writer, working on a novel. Behold!" He pulled out an orange book and held it up, the words "Icha Icha Paradise" hovering above a woman playfully chasing a man.

Silence descended as the two genin stared at it, twin looks of recognition dawning on them. "Wait a second!" Naruto yelled, pointing at it. "Isn't that book—?!" The man turned to face him, a smug gleam in his eye.

"Oh!? You know it?"

"You're even worse than I thought!" Sakura roared, launching forward him with a punch to his side. He yelled in surprise as he skidded back a single step, rubbing the spot with his free hand.

"Wow, that's... not a very good punch," he remarked blandly. "Seriously, kid. Kinda pathetic." Sakura's eye twitched even more, her face turning red. Naruto quietly inched away before she released a banshee screech and descended upon the pervert with an impressive display of fancy punches, twirling and leaping and throwing her fist at him from various angles.

 _Wow, Sakura-chan's been working on her flexibility,_ Naruto thought with mild awe as he watched her twist mid-air and try to deliver a kick to his side. However, her efforts proved futile, as the man easily ducked away from each blow, smoothly stepping out of the way of her fists and legs. Growling in frustration, Sakura landed and panted heavily, her eyes blazing with unbridled fury.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded, her frustration hitting peak levels.

"You want to know who I am?" her opponent asked, chuckling under his breath. Hands slamming onto the ground, a large burst of smoke erupted beneath him and the two genin jumped back warily, assuming defensive stances. As it cleared away they saw the man now standing atop a large orange toad, striking a dramatic pose as he grinned at them. "I am Mount Myoboku's Master Sage, also known as the Great Toad Sage! The one and only Legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya!"

His voice seemed to echo as he delivered the dramatic introduction, and upon finishing it both genin just stared at him unimpressed.

Naruto inched over to Sakura and turned his head towards her ear, raising a hand to cover his mouth. "Sakura?" he whispered, and her eyes flitted towards him.

"Yeah?" she muttered.

"Do you have any idea what any of that meant?"

"Not really."

The man—Jiraiya—nearly fell off the toad as he heard that, quickly straightening. "What the—come on, you kids haven't heard of me!? You know, the Legendary Sannin and all that?"

"Legendary San—?" Comprehension flashed on Sakura's face, and he perked up.

"Aha! So you have heard of us?"

"Oh yeah! You're one of Tsunade-sama's teammates!"

This time Jiraiya really _did_ fall off the toad. It looked at him and its chest expanded with a loud croak, and then it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You know Tsuna-chan but not me?" Jiraiya sputtered, staggering to his feet and gawking at her. "She hasn't even been an active Leaf ninja in almost two decades!"

"Yeah, but she's a _Legendary Sannin_ ," Sakura sniffed, folding her arms as she leered at him. "There's only three you know, they all studied directly under the Third Hokage. On top of that she's also the First Hokage's granddaughter, and one of the greatest medical ninja to ever live—and _definitely_ the greatest medic alive right now."

"Wow, she sounds pretty important," Naruto mused, and Sakura grinned at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"She totally is! She's one of my idols, right up there with Kushina-sama and Ryoko-sama!" Jiraiya's hair seemed to prickle, looking ready to blow steam out his nose.

"Are you kidding me!? You haven't heard of me but you know Kushina and Ryo—" He suddenly stopped, slowly straightening as his eyes narrowed. "Hold on a second. You've heard of _Ryoko_ and _Kushina_? Those two were _definitely_ before your time, kid."

"—and the other Sannin, Orochimaru, became one of the most notorious criminals to ever come from Konoha," Sakura continued, blithely ignorant of Jiraiya's murmuring as she lectured to an enraptured Naruto. The Toad Sage sputtered in disbelief, his jaw looking ready to pop off its hinges after how low it dropped.

"Wait, you know about _Orochimaru_ but not me!?"

"Well, yeah," Sakura replied with a nonchalant shrug. "He's kinda at the top of, like, every Bingo Book. I mean, I've even found one from _Yugakure_ and it had him on page one. He looks really slimy, like a snake," she added for Naruto's benefit, shuddering in disgust. Jiraiya just stared at her blankly, and slowly pressed his face into his palm.

"I give up," he moaned, shaking his head in defeat.

"What about those two women you mentioned?" Naruto asked. At this point the two genin had moved past being angry at Jiraiya's peeping in favor of an impromptu trivia session, and unlike the boring classes at the academy Naruto found himself eager to learn more from his teammate.

"Ryoko-sama and Kushina-sama?" she asked, looking incredulous he didn't know them. "Okay Naruto, neither of them ever got mentioned in school so you get a pass this time. Kinda of. I mean, Kushina-sama is—" She suddenly stopped, a look of mild alarm flashing across her features before quickly shaking her head. "Uh, forget I said anything about her."

"Huh? Why?" Naruto looked a her in confusion, his curiosity piqued, and she sighed.

"It's a long story, and I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to know it...?" she mumbled, sucking on the inside of her cheek as she darted a glance towards Jiraiya. Naruto noticed he looked at her with a much sharper gaze than before, his lips pursed in a thoughtful frown.

"If you're talking about what I think, then _definitely_ not," he agreed coolly, and she blanched. Naruto frowned and turned to face the old pervert, his mouth opening to demand an explanation when his teammate quickly spoke up.

"But anyways, I'm pretty sure you must have at least met Ryoko-sama at some point, so you have _less_ of an excuse to not know who she is!"

Her attempt to redirect Naruto's attention worked, his questions about Kushina instantly vanishing as he looked at her in surprise. "Wait, what? When?"

"Well, I mean, I remember you and Masaru hung out a lot at the academy before, well, you know." She trailed off and shrugged awkwardly, and Naruto frowned, scratching his head.

"Well, yeah," he mumbled, "But what does Masaru have to do with her?"

"You're kidding," Sakura deadpanned, and at Naruto's blank expression she deadpanned, "You're not kidding. Naruto, Ryoko-sama is Uchiha Ryoko. Masaru's mom. Didn't you ever go to his house or anything?"

"...Uh, no?" he replied sheepishly, looking away. "We... never really hung out outside the academy. We got ramen once though! That was awesome!"

Sakura and Jiraiya just stared at him silently. "Kid, I'm sorry, but that's kinda sad," Jiraiya proclaimed, and Sakura nodded her head in sage agreement.

"Hey, it's not sad at all!" Naruto argued, scowling. "Nothing brings people together like ramen! Speaking of which..."

"No," Sakura replied flatly, and he sagged in defeat. He didn't even ask her yet and she turned him down! He turned a sour glare in the so-called sage's direction, deciding to blame him for the rejection. If he hadn't been peeping, Naruto's plan to woo Sakura by showing the foresight to ask someone else to check the onsen for her instead of going in with the Sexy Jutsu _totally_ would have worked!

Suddenly he perked up, spinning to face Sakura once more. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Sakura, thanks!" He grinned as he held up his wrist to show off the new wristband, his sleeve sliding down. Sakura stared at it blankly, her eyebrows furrowing in mild confusion.

"You... wanted to show me your bracelet?" she mumbled, frowning, and Naruto blinked.

"Huh? Wait, no!" he said quickly. "You got it for me, didn't you?"

"Oho, what's this?" Jiraiya asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Having ladies over at your apartment already? You're really ahead of the curve, aren't you kid?"

The two genin proceeded to stare at him blankly, and after a moment Sakura turned her head to her teammate. "Naruto?"

"On it," he replied, raising his hands in the sign for the Shadow Clone jutsu. A flock of clones appeared and threw themselves at the perverted man, Jiraiya squawking in dismay as they descended upon him. The pair watched in satisfaction as they proceeded to lightly pummel him in Sakura's place, overcoming his earlier blocking skill displayed against her with sheer numbers.

 _Teamwork._

"But seriously, what are you talking about?" Sakura asked, turning back to Naruto.

"Well, I found this on the counter after you left. Didn't you get it for me? It even says 'Hokage' on it!" He pulled it off to show her more clearly, and she frowned.

"Naruto... I've never seen that in my life."

"Wait, what?" Naruto frowned as he stared at the wristband in confusion. Twin looks of horror dawned on their faces and Naruto quickly dropped the band as they stepped back, staring at it in apprehension. In the silence that followed a single crow cawed, its cry like a mocking laugh at their dumfounded looks.

"Well, that's one interesting mystery," Jiraiya remarked, and casually plucked it off the ground to examine it more closely. "Looks pretty normal to me, but I'll just hold onto this for a little while."

"Uh, y-you can keep it," Naruto muttered, fidgeting uncomfortably. "I don't... really want it."

"Rude." A gruff voice suddenly caught their attention, and all three turned to see a gray feline standing behind them with several pouches attached to its side. Scars marred its body to create small pink lines where fur couldn't grow, a black eye patch covering its left eye. The remaining golden eye rolled at them, tiny pointed teeth flashing as it sneered. "We go through the trouble of delivering that personally, and you don't even want it?"

"Who the hell are—" Naruto started to yell irritably only to freeze as sudden realization dawned on him. "Wait a second, _you can talk_!?"

"Rude and dumb, I see," the feline remarked, and Naruto squawked in offense. The cat ignored him, turning its attention to Sakura. "You, girlie. Are you Haruno Sakura?" Sakura instantly stiffened, eying the cat apprehensively.

"Y-yes... Why?" Studying her briefly, the cat turned its head and lifted the flap of one of the pouches on its back with its mouth, pulling out a purple coin purse with a pink charm on it. It threw it towards her with a toss of the head, Sakura catching it out of pure reflex. "There. Don't lose that, got it. I need to go before I catch his stupid." As it spoke the cat leveled a disdainful glare upon Jiraiya, who huffed and crossed his arms.

"Nice to see you too, Masahige," he muttered, and the feline merely turned and stalked away, disappearing in a gray blur. The two genin stood in shock, staring at the purse in Sakura's hands.

"...What just happened?" she whispered.

"Well, this is an interesting turn of events," Jiraiya remarked, and casually snatched the purse away. Ignoring Sakura's cry of protest, he untied the string closing it and examined the interior briefly before nodding to himself. "Yep, just like I thought. I'll just hold onto this for a little while."

"You—that's stealing!" she sputtered.

"It's _borrowing_ ," he corrected. "A ninneko contracted to a kunoichi who's been dead for almost five years suddenly turns up and gives two genin gifts. That's a little suspicious, don't you think?"

"When you put it like that, yeah, it is," Naruto agreed quietly, frowning as he eyed the black band looped loosely around the sage's fingers.

"Glad you agree. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get started on investigating this. I'll see you two around." Jiraiya raised his hand in a loose wave as he headed off, the two genin watching him depart with small frowns but making no move to follow.

Once he'd reached a suitable distance the Sannin sighed and glanced at the purple pouch, his expression growing serious. Loosening the string as much as possible, he quickly turned it inside-out and held it closer to his face, his eyes squinting as he examined it. Black marks coated the interior of the pouch, almost camouflaged against the dark purple fabric.

Huffing a small sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a leaf green coin pouch matching his clothes, the kanji for ' _Oil_ ' printed on it side. He quickly reversed it to reveal seals lining the interior, and he held the two pouches side by side, examining them closely. "Definitely identical," he muttered under his breath, and sighed as he returned both to their original orientation.

He didn't bother trying to examine the black wristband, knowing he'd find the same thing there, and just slid them into his pocket. "Ryoko, just how paranoid did you get at the end?" he mumbled. He could envision her inscribing seals onto some sort of "gift" for every student in her children's class, fueled by anxiety for their eventual ascension to genin. He sighed as he turned and walked away, his mood far more somber after the latest discovery.

"Sensei's gonna want to hear about this..."

* * *

 **OMAKE: _Meanwhile with Kakashi..._**

As Sasuke and Masaru fled from the rabid ninken Kakashi sat high above them on a tree branch, staring blankly at the gray cat with pear-colored eyes. His gaze flickered to the silver-colored wrist band on his lap—inscribed with the trademark _henohenomoheji_ "face" his ninken wore on their uniforms—and then slowly slid to the open letter in his hands.

' _Dear Kakashi,_

 _If you are reading this, then I assume someone finally noticed the seal in the map and my ninneko are carrying out my second-to-final orders. I plan to write my final letter soon so I shall keep this one short and spare the emotional apologies, since you should have already read it by now._

 _I believe you can figure out the purpose of this gift. I couldn't think of a more fitting symbol for you, so pardon the joke. I hope it will serve you well in the future._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Uchiha Ryoko_

 _P.S. Please make sure the Inuzuka clan does not try to eat my ninneko. Tsume used to say they looked very tasty, and I'm not sure how much she was joking when she said that._

 _P.P.S. Please say hi to Tsume for me and thank her for not eating my cats._ '

The jounin sighed and hung his head in silent resignation. "Your master was insane, wasn't he?" he deadpanned to the cat.

The feline just stared at him blankly, and proceeded to calmly knock his kunai pouch to the forest floor. A pained yelp sounded from Sasuke as it hit him on the head, followed by more yelps as several of the dogs piled on top of him. The cat slowly blinked at the carnage unfolding below them, and then meowed once before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

* * *

 **Author's Note: We have now confirmed Jiraiya has a companion seal for the map too.** And Ryoko also made some for Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi. Also, meet Masahige. He's a crotchety old man in feline form and is the leader of Ryoko's ninneko summons. Overall, this chapter is much lighter than the last one, but still pretty informative I think.

So, out of curiosity, who else do you think has a seal? Also, why do you think Jiraiya has one? As always, I love to hear your speculation!


	26. Chapter 25: See the World

**A/N: Surprise early update!** I'm going to the state fair tomorrow so I won't be able to post at the normal time. Also, I made a new cover image of our friendly neighborhood Kakashi-napper! I have a bigger version of it on deviantArt, which uses the same username. Also, Reebajee made some great fan art of the photo in Sasuke's (and technically also Itachi's) omamari! You can find it in my favorites on my DA account. This is the first time I've gotten fan art for this story, and I love it. It just captures everyone's faces so perfectly.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 25

* * *

 _"If you're young, you should try to travel a bit. See the world, get some great stories under your belt. Fall in love with an enemy from a foreign country and develop a Romeo and Juliet situation, and see if you can use it to create a peace treaty or something."_

* * *

Life returned to normal surprisingly fast after Masaru revealed his Sharingan to Kakashi, with some minor changes. He now had specialized training with him and Sasuke once a week, and Gaku had been given a special schedule to aid in training his doujutsu.

Due to the events in Wave, Kakashi decided Team Seven had a good enough grip on the concept of teamwork to start learning some more advanced techniques. This meant cutting down on the D-rank missions, which in turn meant they would not be likely to run a mission with Masaru anytime soon. He did get to join in the training sometimes though, so it balanced out a bit.

Meanwhile, Team Eight's teacher, Kurenai, apparently decided they had also reached an optimal level of teamwork to let another person join the mix.

"Well, that was certainly eventful," Kurenai commented as they went to the administration building to submit their report. Kiba growled under his breath in irritation as he trailed behind her, a sentiment echoed by Akamaru. Dog fur covered him from head to toe even more than usual, the sleeves of his sweatshirt almost shredded by the sheer number of scratches from tiny claws left by the struggling puppies. The others didn't look much better, their clothing just as ragged and coated with dog fur.

Today's mission had consisted of helping with puppy vaccinations. Normally the Inuzuka clan did not request help for vaccinating puppies, but they had three large litters born around the same time for a whopping total of twenty-two puppies, which was a lot even by their standards. Since ninken puppies tended to be pretty bright, the clan decided to get some help in keeping the puppies in line for the inevitable chaos that would follow when they figured out what was going on.

Alas, that job had fallen on Team Eight and Masaru, and the ninken puppies figured it out by Puppy Number Nine.

They never stood a chance.

"I think they shed more than mom's cats did," Masaru groaned.

"F-father won't be happy with this," Hinata mumbled, frowning as she held out her arms to eye her ripped sleeves.

"Screw what your dad thinks!" Kiba snapped. "You're gonna come back with a lot worse than dog fur once you go on the field!" Akamaru yipped in agreement, flashing the nervous Hyuuga a doggy grin full of encouragement. Masaru just eyed Hinata thoughtfully, his lips pulling into a small frown. Seeing this, Kurenai stepped forward with a faint smile.

"Hinata-chan's father is quite strict," she explained. "He places a lot of expectations on her since she's the eldest child of the main house." Hinata ducked her head at the comment, her cheeks tinting slightly red, and Masaru's frown grew.

"I know," he muttered and the others paused, not missing the bitterness that seeped into his voice.

"Have you met Hiashi-sama?" Shino questioned, cocking his head slightly. "The tone you use suggests you have a personal grudge against the man."

"I haven't met him," Masaru replied, shaking his head. His fists clenched at his sides as he added heatedly, "But I don't need to, to know he's a jerk." Kiba and Kurenai looked at him in open curiosity, and Hinata fidgeted slightly, raising her head to glance at him.

"Um, i-is this because of," she hesitated, frowning and poking her fingers together nervously. "A-Akari-chan?" Masaru glanced at her in faint surprise and she flinched, as if expecting him to lash out at mentioning his sister.

"...Yeah, it is," he confirmed quietly, and looked away with a sigh. Hearing his sister's name still brought up a dull ache in his chest, reminding him of just what he'd lost.

"Akari?" Kurenai echoed, frowning. "That's... Masaru-kun's sister, right?" The fact she knew Akari faintly surprised Masaru, but he didn't really feel like asking how she did. It would just bring back sad memories.

"We... used to be friends," Hinata explained, saving Masaru the trouble. "But our clans didn't really g-get along, and Akari-chan wasn't very... um, important. S-so, the clan elders pressured my father to make me end it, and... he did." Her head bowed once more, guilt riddling her features. Masaru scowled as he recalled Akari's anger at the premature demise of their friendship, his jaw clenching tight.

Kiba, however, skidded to a stop, nearly choking on air as he pointed to Masaru. "Wait a second, _you're_ Akari's brother!? Holy shit!" Masaru flinched and turned to face the Inuzuka with a look of mild bewilderment, more than a little confused by his reaction. Next to him Shino huffed a small sigh, his head tipping slightly into his high collar.

"Kiba, I am aware you are not the brightest person on our team, but I expected you to at least notice they went home together every day."

"B-but that's, I-I, uh," Kiba stammered nervously, the perfect picture of embarrassed as his cheeks grew almost as red as the fangs tattooed onto them. Masaru found himself strangely entranced by the markings, the crimson fangs tugging at his memory.

 _He stood on the playground of the academy, watching from afar as Akari rolled on the ground wrestling with a small boy with two red triangles on his face. Laughter drifted to his ears as the boy pinned his sister, only for her to squirm out of his grip and throw him to the side. As they rolled along another boy with sunglasses suddenly appeared and halted their tumble, gesturing to the grass. Akari and the first boy stopped and watched curiously as he bent down, and their eyes lit up in awe as he lifted his arm to reveal a large, black beetle._

 _That's right,_ he thought in the present, sneaking dazed looks at Shino and Kiba. They were friends with Akari, weren't they...

"Masaru? Is everything okay?" Kurenai's concerned voice drew his attention, and Masaru glanced at her in a slight daze only to freeze. Crimson eyes bore into him, and for half a horrifying second he imagined black tomoe forming and spinning wildly. He staggered back with a startled gasp, his breath hitching in his throat, and then shrieked as he felt hands grip his shoulder.

"Masaru?" Kiba asked next to him, and Masaru whirled his head around to find him watching worriedly. Whatever the Inuzuka intended to say died on his lips though, as his mouth fell open as his eyes bulged out. "Holy shit! Masaru! Your eyes! They're red!"

Kiba's interjection jolted Masaru and his earlier daze faded, replaced by sheer surprise. "W-what?" he stammered, blinking wildly. Spinning his head around, he realized everything seemed far clearer, and his shoulders drooped. "...My Sharingan is active, isn't it."

"Y-yes," Hinata squeaked, looking mildly shocked and frightened. Sighing, Masaru closed his eyes and willed his chakra to move away from them, and when he opened his lids again the world had returned to its normal resolution.

"Does that happen a lot?" Shino asked.

"Sometimes," he sighed, thinking back to the three-day training trip with Kakashi and Sasuke.

 _"As you know, the Sharingan typically activates in life or death situations," Kakashi explained casually, leaning against a tree as the two Uchiha boys sat cross-legged in front of him. "That is because it is primarily triggered by intense emotions, which is probably why your clan tried to discourage showing any human emotion whatsoever."_

 _Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes at the thinly veiled insult, while Masaru frowned and shrugged. Sounded accurate enough, it matched with what his mom told him. Kakashi's gaze slid over to him, and he immediately stiffened. "Masaru-kun, from what you've told me, you first noticed your Sharingan when you saw your reflection after a bad dream, correct?" The boy winced and looked away, nodding quietly._

 _"Yeah, it's true," he mumbled. He clearly remembered the brief spike of terror when he sat up in bed and noticed the bright red eyes glowing in his bedroom mirror. It had taken a moment to recognize it belonged to his reflection, and not to the boy who slayed their family or the boy who woke up on a table with only one eye in his dream._

 _"You know how to consciously activate and deactivate it, but you've never explicitly_ trained _that aspect. Based on the other instances you've mentioned activating it, I think your Sharingan is actually even_ more _sensitive to your emotional state than usual. In short, it may be possible for it to trigger without you noticing."_

"It's fine," Kurenai assured him, offering a small smile. "It just surprised us, that's all. Let's go deliver the reports, okay?" The four genin nodded, and they resumed their journey. However, when they arrived at the administration building, a chuunin entered the room and shot Masaru a pointed look.

"Ah, Uchiha-san!" he greeted with a nod. "Perfect timing! The Hokage wanted to see you when you got back." Masaru stiffened and frowned, glancing at the others as he wondered why the Hokage would want to see him specifically.

"Aw, man, a personal audience?" Kiba said, looking at the Uchiha with a small frown. "Dang it, now I'm kinda jealous!" His voice held a playful note though, and Masaru knew he didn't feel any ill will.

"Go ahead," Kurenai told him with a smile. "We can turn in the report on our own." Nodding, Masaru followed the chuunin down the hall to the Hokage's office, the man knocking on the door and ushering him inside. To his surprise Gaku stood waiting in front of the desk alongside two other men. One had a noticeable scar on his face spanning the bridge of his nose and his left cheek, while the other had a senbon in his mouth and wore a bandana with the metal plate bearing Konoha's symbol on the back.

His gaze quickly wandered away from them though, focusing on a white-haired man behind the desk. Masaru could only see half of his face, the man turned away to study his mother's map hanging on the wall. The boy's lips pursed, studying the red line extending from the stranger's visible eye. Something about him seemed... familiar.

"Masaru-kun, perfect timing," the Hokage greeted with a warm smile, drawing his attention back to him. "I had hoped you would arrive soon. I trust your mission with Team Eight went well?"

Masaru paused and glanced down at himself. Enough dog fur covered him to knit a hat, or maybe some patches to sew over the holes left by the puppies. "...Define 'well,'" he deadpanned, and the Hokage chuckled.

"In any event, I am sure you know about the upcoming Chuunin Exams, correct?" His words gave Masaru pause and his gaze slowly shifted to the two men, eying their flak jackets pointedly.

"We're not here to round out a team for you, kid," the senbon-chewing shinobi chuckled, mouth curving into a wry smirk. "We've already done our time, we're not doing it again."

"I'm afraid you won't be participating this time around," Gaku added. "As you know Konoha requires a full team to participate, and we don't have enough time to round up a couple genin to work with you and establish a suitable level of teamwork."

"...Ah." He nodded slowly, secretly relieved. While his training had certainly picked up lately, he did _not_ feel ready for the Chuunin Exams yet. Still, that begged the question of why the Hokage mentioned it at all. Fortunately, as if reading his mind the elderly leader spoke up.

"Masaru, as you know, one of the more significant rites of passage in a shinobi's life is their first mission outside the village," he began, and Masaru perked to attention. "As you have no team, most C-rank missions are too unsafe to send you, as you would almost invariably end in a situation where you would be alone at some point. However, currently a large number of foreign shinobi are journeying to Konoha for the Chuunin Exams. And as I'm sure you can imagine, we want to do a good job hosting them."

Comprehension clicked in Masaru's brain, looking to the two strangers next to Gaku. "You want me to help escort some of them here," he surmised, and all four men nodded.

"Pretty bright, kid," commented the scarred man. "Not everyone knows the way to Konoha, so we usually send out squads to meet the teams at a certain point and escort them the rest of the way."

"Tomorrow, you will be expected to greet the delegation from Suna at a hotel in Aokigawa-cho at noon," the Hokage explained, taking on a more businesslike tone. "Genma and Raidou have escorted teams from that particular point before, so they'll take lead. There will only be one genin team from Suna this trip, as they chose to travel separately from the other genin teams. However, this team is of particular importance because it happens to consist of the Kazekage's three children."

The four shinobi in front of him stood to visible attention at the last part, instantly recognizing the gravity of the mission. Suna and Konoha had a shaky alliance at the moment, so escorting the Kazakage's own children could have a major effect on their relationship.

Leaning forward, the Hokage folded his hands on his desk as he eyed Masaru. "Their ages span three years, but his youngest son happens to be your age. Gaku-san has told me about your desire to enter a field with a low chance of having to kill enemies, so think of this as an opportunity to test a potential path in the diplomatic field."

"Diplomatic field?" Masaru echoed, and the Hokage nodded.

"Yes. Diplomatic missions to foreign villages always run a risk of betrayal and require a strong grasp of politics, but they generally involve less fighting than most. As a member of the Uchiha clan—one of our founding clans—your presence would be seen as quite honorable and flattering, though it would also carry a higher personal risk for obvious reasons."

Masaru frowned and slowly nodded, his mind racing. Bloodline theft always posed a large risk to the Uchiha, whose Sharingan could potentially be taken and transplanted into other people as proven by Kakashi. Diplomatic missions to foreign villages would undoubtedly be especially dangerous for him because of it, but on the other hand the villages would be unable to openly attack him without running the risk of starting another war.

"We'll leave tomorrow at six," Gaku informed him, breaking him from his thoughts. "Pack for a standard C-rank mission, and bring enough supplies for three days. Aokigawa-cho's only a few hours away, but we need to take a longer route back for security reasons and the weather calls for an intense storm tomorrow, so we'll probably need to stay at a hotel. If we run into any bandits, we'll have you take lead so you can get field experience. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Masaru responded, nodding his head firmly. The Hokage smiled, satisfied at his conviction.

"In that case, you're dismissed," he declared. Masaru nodded and turned to leave, casting a final glance at the white-haired man who had been silent the entire time. Something about him still felt really familiar...

* * *

The next morning, the four shinobi met at the gates at dawn and set out. The journey took only a few hours, Genma and Raidou making polite conversation with Masaru and Gaku as they jumped through the trees. They arrived in Aokigawa an hour before the scheduled meeting time, so they decided to get a quick lunch at a small cafe and review the return route a final time before going to the meeting point a few minutes early.

Four Suna shinobi stood outside the hotel, and even if they didn't have hitai-ate they would stand out. The jounin sensei wore turban-like headgear that had a cloth hanging over the left half of his face, along with a tan flak jacket. The eldest genin, a kunoichi, had sandy blonde hair tied into four spiky pigtails and wore a lavender dress with a fishnet undershirt. Next to her stood a boy dressed like a Kabuki stagehand, complete with a black uniform and purple face paint.

However, the one that caught Masaru's attention the most was the youngest, a boy with spiky red hair and the kanji for "love" displayed prominently on his forehead right above his left eye. Something about him sent chills down Masaru's spine, his unease only multiplying when the boy's gaze slid towards him as they approached. Thick black lines ringed his eyes, his irises a pale green with no distinct pupils.

His eyes had no light in them, looking barely different from a corpse's.

Suppressing a shudder at the thought, Masaru hung back as Genma greeted the jounin-sensei, who introduced himself as Baki. Behind him his students all seemed to focus their attentions on Masaru, which really did not ease his comfort. After a certain point Baki nodded at them and the girl stepped forward, flashing Masaru a small smirk. "My name is Temari. As you can probably guess, I'm the oldest."

"My name's Kankurou," the Kabuki-stagehand-wannabe greeted, raising a hand in a wave. His eyes held a sort of malicious gleam as he leered at Masaru with an unfriendly grin, obviously sizing him up.

"Gaara," the scariest one said simply, soulless stare never leaving him. Masaru just smiled the most polite and forced smile possible, his etiquette training automatically kicking in as his brain began to overload with heavily suppressed panic at the sheer stress of the social dilemma facing him.

He had a feeling this mission would be mildly terrifying.

"My name is Uchiha Masaru, it is an honor to meet you," he greeted, bending at an almost ninety degree angle in a respectful bow usually reserved only for one's Kage. "I hope we all get along well."

When he straightened he found the Sand Siblings continued to stare at him in a predatory way, and after a moment Genma coughed and suggested they move out. Most of the day passed uneventfully. The adults talked idly about the predicted storm and their plans for the night, while Temari and Kankurou lightly interrogated Masaru about his training.

"So you're not taking the exams?" Temari asked, blue eyes glinting in mild disapproval.

"I do not have a proper team and a am quite recent graduate, so I am afraid I do not qualify," Masaru replied, vaguely noting his cheeks started to feel a little sore from his polite smile. It hadn't faded once since leaving Aokigawa, a fact that the Sand genin did not miss.

"You smile a lot, don't you?" Kankurou muttered, scratching his head. "It's kinda creepy."

"I apologize if my smile seems unsettling," he replied, dipping in a small bow.

"You talk pretty stiff, too. Seriously, it's getting kinda weird."

"I apologize again. I tend to revert to highly polite behavior when feeling particularly stressed."

"Are you saying we scare you?" Temari asked, smirking at him viciously, and Masaru could feel Gaara's eyes boring into him from behind. His smile grew a little wider, and he consciously forced it to shrink a bit when his eyes began to scrunch up.

"Yes, but that is because all social interactions tend to scare me as I am ridiculously inexperienced and awkward." He had gotten better at it and could talk to most Leaf ninja just fine, but foreign ninja—not to mention the _children of an allied village's leader_ —admittedly pushed him firmly outside his comfort zone and right into the great void of discomfort.

He responded politely to all their questions, that nerve-induced smile never fading, and tried to ignore the fact Gaara kept staring at him in utter silence. Something about Gaara unsettled him, and Masaru decided he should probably trust his instincts and keep his distance as much as possible without being rude. Something else told him Gaara wouldn't particularly care about manners anyway, but he would not take any chances.

Storm clouds gathered overhead by the time they reached the hotel, renting a total of four rooms with plans to split into pairs. "That redhead seemed to get his own room," Raidou reported as the Leaf ninja convened in Masaru and Gaku's room that evening. "Baki put his belongings in the same one as the two older genin, anyway."

"There's something off with that kid," Genma muttered, reclining against a wall with a frown. "I don't know, maybe it's just me, but..." His eyes slid over to Gaku, who seemed unusually tense.

"I think there's a high chance it's him," he declared solemnly, and Masaru blinked, looking around the gathered jounin in confusion. Clearly they knew something he didn't. Sensing his confusion, Gaku turned to him with a sigh. "Well, I need to teach you about this sooner or later, so... Masaru, do you know anything about jinchuuriki?"

"Jinchuuriki?" he repeated, brows knitting in confusion. "It sounds kinda familiar, but..."

"Jinchuuriki are hosts who have a Tailed Beast sealed inside them." Masaru instantly perked up, recognition flashing in his eyes.

"Like the Kyuubi?" he asked, and Gaku nodded.

"Exactly. Tailed Beasts can't actually be killed since they're chakra constructs. They can be defeated, but they'll eventually reform, so the villages usually seal them into a person. Not many people can handle their chakra, and normally it's done while the host is very young so that their chakra coils can adapt to it. All five of the great villages have at least one jinchuuriki, though Taki also has one."

"Suna has the Ichibi," Raidou added. "The One-Tailed Tanuki. We don't know who the host is, though. The villages try to conceal the jinchuuriki's identities, so we can only speculate. Most evidence we have points to the Kazekage's youngest son being their jinchuuriki, though."

"If he is, I'm wondering how stable his seal is," Genma added. "Like I said, something about him seems off. I know the seals can be pretty tricky business, and last I heard Suna doesn't have any fuinjutsu masters."

"In any case, I think we should take shifts tonight," Gaku suggested. "Just in case." The other jounin nodded in agreement, and worked out a quick plan to have a rotating watch shift. They chose to leave Masaru out since as a genin he wouldn't be able to do much on his own if anything happened. Still, the brief conversation left him with a lot to think about as he laid in bed.

Tailed Beasts couldn't die, and all five great hidden villages had at least one jinchuuriki. According to the stories, the Fourth Hokage gave his life to kill the Kyuubi. However, if the Kyuubi couldn't actually die, then logically he must have sealed it instead. Which meant Konoha had a jinchuuriki. But who?

(" _Don't you dare come in here, you demon!_ " " _Damn fox, can't believe he's stuck in my son's class._ " " _You have no business speaking to him so familiarly, you damn demon brat!_ ")

He frowned and squeezed his eyes shut, burrowing under the covers. Maybe he shouldn't think about it...

* * *

Omake: Dog Duty

Loud giggles escaped Masaru as dozens of small tongues tickled his face, uncaring of the low pain in his ribs from the mound of squirming, furry bodies currently crushing him. As far as ways to die went, Masaru decided "asphyxiation by puppies" really wouldn't be that bad.

"Okay, I've heard of a dog piles, but this is kinda crazy," Kiba muttered as he and the other members of Team Eight stood to the side, watching the Uchiha writhe under the mound of puppies.

"Perhaps Masaru-kun simply has more experience with canines," Shino offered. Gasping for breath, Masaru lifted his head slightly to shake it at the Aburame.

"I never—pfft—really met a dog—haha—besides Akamaru," he told him, his words punctuated by suppressed giggles. He also met Kakashi's ninken, but he didn't count them because most of their interactions consisted of them chasing him down at Kakashi's command. They never really showed any dog-like behavior other than slobbering all over him. "The Uchiha used—heh—c-cat summons."

"You disgust me," Kiba deadpanned, and Hinata giggled slightly. Masaru didn't respond right away, too busy giggling at the puppies tickling his face.

"Help me," Masaru choked once he got enough breath, flashing the other genin a watery and desperate smile.

"That would be counterproductive," Shino replied bluntly. "Why? Because once they figure out what's going on, they will become impossible to control."

"Shino's right," Kiba agreed easily. "Just enjoy it." Masaru shot them a weak glare, but considering he had a goofy smile on his face from giggling, it hardly had any effect. _Note to self: never let enemies figure out face is ticklish._ Not that many enemy shinobi would try to tickle someone's face, but still.

The door to the examination room opened and Inuzuka Hana stepped outside, setting down a small brown Akita puppy. It quickly bounded over to join its canine brethren in piling atop the trapped Uchiha, and Masaru's head flopped back onto the tile with a resigned giggle. So far they'd gone through eight puppies, and no pandemonium had broken out.

"Wow, those puppies really like you, don't they?" she commented lightly. "This is the smoothest vaccination day we've had in a while." Her lips quirked into a teasing smirk as she added, "You know, maybe you should take one of them home." Sudden silence fell as twenty-one pairs of puppy ears perked in excitement, an equal number of shiny eyes turning upon Masaru.

Masaru slowly turned to look at Team Eight, his face resigned. "Tell Sasuke I love him," he requested flatly, and then the puppies pounced on him with renewed energy.


	27. Chapter 26: Dreams are Fascinating

**A/N: Before I post this, I just want to say Echoes of Light has finally reached 100 followers on here. Thank you everyone so much for enjoying it so far! I hope this story keeps entertaining you!**

* * *

Chapter 26

* * *

 _"Dreams are fascinating things. Sometimes you can go straight from watching a movie as a passive viewer to directing it and the action. You don't question the logic in them while you're asleep, you just enjoy them as they unfold. It's too bad you usually forget them when you wake up."_

* * *

"Well sensei, I think I finally got it all figured out, and I gotta say—it's pretty ingenious."

Jiraiya spread a map on the Hokage's desk with a dramatic flair, Hiruzen scrutinizing it with a keen eye. Unlike the one painted by Ryoko, this one looked far simpler, little more than basic outlines of the countries with various symbols dotting the empty spaces. Yet even so he could tell that it had been hand painted rather than purchased from a store, the brush strokes clearly defined and varying in thickness—not to mention it had a network of seals bordering it.

"At first I had trouble figuring out Ryoko's seal," the Toad Sage began. "I got the seals on the borders, but something seemed to be missing. Then after looking at her painting more closely, I realized that the map _itself_ contained a seal."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "You mean she incorporated a seal into the actual map?"

"Try the other way around," Jiraiya responded with a cheeky smirk. "The fancy paint job's a distraction from the fact that the outlines of the countries are directly connected to the seal bordering it. Hell, I could spend hours trying to explain it all to you, and I dedicated a few pages to it in my final report. For now though, what matters is this."

He pointed at the seals bordering the top of the map, and when Hiruzen squinted he noticed it had the kanji for "Map" in the center. "On Ryoko's map, she wrote the kanji for 'world' there. I found it on the seals inside her little gifts to Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, too—and by the way, that foresight still really scares me," Jiraiya added casually as he bounced the purple coin purse in his palm, "But anyways, I realized _this_ little piece right here is the variable that specifically links the map to the companion seal.

"So," he continued, dropping the coin purse and pulling out a thick, yellow wrist brand, "I changed the variable to 'map' and made my own little charm." As he spoke he handed the wrist band to Hiruzen, who inspected it thoughtfully. A white tag sewn into the side carried the kanji for "Test", and when he reversed it he found a series of seals inscribed on the inner side of the fabric.

"I see," Hiruzen murmured, nodding sagely. "And it works?"

Grinning, Jiraiya slapped a hand on the center of the map and the seals on the wrist band lit up. Hiruzen fed it his own chakra in response, and sure enough the seals bordering the map flared to life and a gold light rippled through it. As they watched part of the glow suddenly veered away from the border and surged through the lines inscribed on the map, causing a bright yellow light to appear over Konoha with the kanji for 'Test' next to it.

"Impressive," Hiruzen declared once the demonstration ended. "I must ask, can it be made on a smaller scale?"

"It can," Jiraiya confirmed, pulling another roll of paper and spreading it on the table. This one showed a basic layout of Konoha, but unlike the other one it had the kanji for "World" at the top once more. Raising an eyebrow, Hiruzen glanced at Jiraiya pointedly and the Sannin produced a small, leaf green pouch. "For this one, I decided to use Ryoko's original seal, since she already _graciously_ prepared at least four companion seals for us, and probably a hell of a lot more than these if we're being honest."

As he spoke he flared his chakra into the pouch and the seal on the map flickered to life, a bead of green light appearing over the Hokage's tower with the kanji for ' _Oil_ ' next to it. "As you can see, Ryoko-chan helpfully incorporated a feature to send a distress signal so that we can signal the map ourselves in case of an emergency. All of which would have been so _wonderful_ to know back when she first gave me this stupid thing."

His smile twitched a bit at the last remark, a bit of irritation slipping into his jovial tone. Hiruzen arched an eyebrow. "To be honest, I'm surprised she didn't tell you. I understand she had reasons not to trust me towards the end, but you... She greatly respected and trusted you."

"I swear," Jiraiya sighed, letting his smile fall as he folded his arms. "That girl caused me no end of troubles. Even after dying she still finds ways to surprise me. One day I'm just traveling around when suddenly, whoosh! That little coin purse she gave me suddenly lights up like it's on fire." Shaking his head, he grumbled, "Protective wards my foot. I should've known better than to believe she laced it with something so simple as fireproofing and waterproofing it."

"At least it gave you a reason to return," Hiruzen commented wryly. "I've been trying to contact you anyway, so it works out fine for me."

"Of course it does for _you_ ," Jiraiya grumbled. He sighed again, his irritation sliding from his face and replaced by a more solemn air. "I think about it a lot and frankly, I'm still not sure if I could've done anything to make things turn out better for her. Ryoko had it pretty rough from the start, it might've been too late by the time we met."

"It very well could have," Hiruzen agreed, mirroring his former student's somber demeanor. "You at least did a good job teaching her fuinjutsu. Perhaps if we're fortunate, she left some notes on her _other_ research," he added, allowing a small smile to slip through.

Jiraiya just snorted and rolled his eyes. "Fat chance. She was the most paranoid kid I ever met. I'm still trying to crack the seals on a couple of the books she left me in her will—and _that_ is _another_ scary moment of foresight," he added with a small grimace. "The topics she picked... I'm seriously wondering if her Sharingan let her see the future. I half expect to open them up and find some super-specific warning, like, 'Orochimaru will appear in Kiri on June 11 wearing a floppy sunhat, be sure to take Anko and thirty dango dumplings because she'll be the key to victory.'"

"You know the Sharingan can't actually see the future," Hiruzen remarked lightly, faintly amused by the description his student conjured.

"Of course I know that," Jiraiya replied, and leveled a calm gaze on his teacher as he casually added, "The regular Sharingan has no precognition abilities." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed as his smile faded, recognizing the underlying message:

' _But another stage_ might.'

* * *

 _He sat in the tea room across from Ryoko, legs folded beneath him on the cushion as he watched her pour tea. "Chamomile tea is wonderful for nerves," she commented idly. "It tastes so sweet, too. Perfect for a couple of sugar lovers like us!" She set down the pot and poked his nose, and a feminine giggle passed his lips._

 _"Thank you, mom!" a familiar voice chirped, and small hands reached out to lift the cup, fingers curling around so each one tapped one of the gold and red leaves painted on the sides. Lifting it to his mouth, he sipped it delicately and gave a satisfied sigh. "It's so sweet."_

 _"Be sure to drink it all," Ryoko said, her hands folded on her lap as she watched. A small hum sounded and the cup lifted again, the golden-orange liquid quickly draining and leaving a strong aftertaste of honey in his mouth. Setting it down, the hands folded atop a familiar lap and his vision dipped briefly._

 _"Thank you for the tea."_

 _"Don't... mention it." Her voice had an odd snag to it, and he straightened with a frown. Ryoko's face lolled forward with a gentle smile on her lips, her eyes closed. As he watched something sparkled at the inner corner of her eye, and a line of tears suddenly slid down her cheek._

 _"Mom?" he asked in alarm, his voice overlapping with the familiar one, and Ryoko sucked in a sharp breath, her smile never fading._

 _"I love you so much, Akari," she whispered, and her eyes opened to reveal the bloody red irises of the Sharingan._

Masaru jolted awake with a gasp, his eyes snapping open. Rolling over and sitting up, his gaze slid to the mirror on the dresser next to the bed and he saw glowing red eyes staring back at him. Something sparkled on his face beneath them, and he rubbed his eyes and pulled his hands away to note tears staining his fingers.

Every now and then, he'd dream about that day. He had no doubt he watched from Akari's eyes as she sat in the tea room, listened with her ears to his mother's rhythmic voice. Such dreams had happened even before the massacre, just little moments from each other's day randomly playing out in their sleep. It had been an absolutely normal phenomenon for them and had occurred for as long as they could remember, and their mother fondly called it "twin telepathy" when they told her about it.

He breathed a small sigh through his nose, quietly climbing out of bed and padding towards the window. Dark clouds still shrouded the sky, but he could glimpse shreds of pale blue through them, signaling the storm had ended and would soon pass altogether. He surmised dawn to be relatively close, and a glance at the clock hanging on the wall confirmed only an hour remained before the planned wakeup time. Gaku still slumbered peacefully, and Masaru decided to just take a few minutes to stew in his thoughts.

He could still feel phantom traces of the tea's flavor from his dream, feeling thick and syrupy on his tongue and coating his throat with a sweet flavor like honey. Wanting to distract himself from it, he quietly slid open the window and inhaled the breeze that swept inside, letting his eyelids flutter shut. Storms calmed him and he enjoyed listening to harsh rain pound against the walls and window panes, but he especially liked the time after a big one. Humidity still hung heavy in the air and he could taste the lingering traces of rain, the smell of damp leaves drifting to his nose.

"Masaru?" Gaku's voice sounded quietly behind him, and he turned in surprise, offering a small smile.

"Sorry sensei, did I wake you up?"

"Ah, no, it's fine," his teacher mumbled, rubbing his eyes and giving a big yawn. "What time is it?"

"Five..." He flashed his Sharingan to read the clock in the darkness. "Thirty-four."

"Close enough," Gaku decided, rolling back the covers and slipping out of bed. "Let's do some stretches." Masaru nodded and joined him on the floor, copying the strange acrobatic poses his sensei did and feeling the kinks in his back pop with satisfying cracks.

"Sensei?" he asked as their backs curled, their limbs stretching into the air. Gaku rolled his head to look at him, his black eyes seeming larger than usual in the dark.

"Yes, Masaru?" he prodded, and the boy hesitated, the question he wanted to ask dying on his lips.

"What's the schedule for today?" he asked instead, and Gaku stared at him for a long moment before answering. The entire time his original question echoed in his mind, lingering like the storm clouds outside.

' _Why wasn't Akari at the hospital that day?_ '

* * *

When the group set out later that day, the storm had passed to leave a clear blue sky. As they walked along the adults idly discussed the storm which led to exchanging some fun stories about various misadventures in finding shelter on missions. Gaku strangely had little trouble with finding suitable accommodations for reasons he wouldn't divulge other than "luck," but Genma had the craziest experience.

"Big escort mission that passed through northern Wind got waylaid by a freak blizzard," he declared flatly. "No shelter for miles around, just endless desert. We ended up using Katon and Futon jutsu to melt the snow into ice and shape it into a small shelter."

"That would have to be pretty far north for an escort mission from Konoha," Baki commented. "What was your destination?"

"Some small town near the border of Earth," Genma replied briskly. "The clients wanted to peddle goods to an eccentric noble who'd moved there."

"Ah, you must mean Lord Henjin," Baki murmured, wincing sympathetically. "He is quite... unique." His tone sounded carefully measured, making Masaru wonder just what kind of man Henjin must be. He couldn't ask though, as the two older Sand Siblings had accosted him and started peppering him with a steady stream of questions.

"So this is your first time leaving your village?" Temari asked disdainfully.

"I never had reason to leave in the past," Masaru replied politely, still all smiles.

"Then does that mean you haven't even been in a fight?" Kankurou challenged, and Masaru somehow refrained from gulping at the predatory gleam in his eyes.

"I have yet to fight any bandits, if that is what you mean. I do spar regularly with one of my fellow genin though, she is a year older than me and quite skilled."

"She?" Kankurou snorted, sounding unimpressed, and then yelped as Temari sharply elbowed him in the ribs with a harsh glare. At that point Masaru's polite smile broke into a more genuine one, snickering at the older boy's misfortune. This earned him a cold glare from the dark-clothed boy. "What're you laughing at, kid?"

"Nothing," Masaru replied, the smile vanishing in an instant and replaced by a serene look of innocence. The abrupt shift made Kankurou falter slightly, his eyes narrowing as he stared at him perplexed.

"...The hell? I thought you only had that creepy robot smile."

"Only when stressed," Masaru replied easily, feeling a bit more relaxed now. The small bit of sibling bickering had eased his prior tension a bit, and he smiled faintly as he glanced at the canopy of foliage above them. Raindrops still clung to the leaves, glistening in the sunlight, and he knocked on a tree trunk to watch the drops shimmer to the ground in a miniature downpour.

"That's pretty kiddish, don't you think?" Temari commented. Masaru merely shrugged, not looking at the Sand kunoichi.

"Maybe? I don't really care though. It reminds me of my sister."

"Your sister?" Temari echoed, sounding genuinely curious. Masaru hummed in response, his wistful smile never fading. Akari loved shaking the trees and watching the water fall. They used to chase each other around after storms while hitting trees with training kunai to try to drench the other.

"You never mentioned you had one," Kankurou remarked. "Are we gonna meet her when we get to Konoha?"

Masaru's steps faltered, his eyes lowering to the forest floor as his smile grew even fainter. "...No. She died. When we were eight."

An awkward silence fell, and he heard a small smack followed by Kankurou grunting in pain and Temari hissing, "Idiot."

"How?" Masaru almost jumped when Gaara suddenly spoke, his voice slightly gravelly and raspy as if he never used it. He didn't look back at the redhead, his right ear suddenly throbbing and his smile fading.

"...My clan's heir went crazy and killed almost everyone," he replied quietly, his eyes trailing to the ground.

"And he spared you?" Gaara pressed, and Masaru hesitated, his hand ghosting over his side and pressing against the scar hidden beneath his shirt.

"...Not untouched," he murmured, his fingers grasping the fabric tightly, and then sped up to fall in step beside his teacher to avoid any more questions. Only a few hours before they returned, and then he'd be home free.

* * *

Breathing through her nose, Sakura raised her hands and began running through seals, her face screwed in concentration as she murmured under her breath. "Ram, Tiger, Snake, Dog, Rat, Ox, Horse, Rabbit, Tiger, Boar, Snake..." Flashing the final seal, she yelled, " _Doton: Practice Brick Barrier!_ "

The earth around her instantly shifted and pillar-like protrusions erupted, forming a short wall in front of her that barely reached her waist. Her hands fell to her sides with a groan, her head hanging in shame. "It's so short..." Kakashi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, smiling at her reassuringly.

"Don't worry, this is a pretty good start," he told her. "This is your first time using this technique after all."

"Yeah, that's super-awesome Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered. "Kakashi-sensei, teach me that jutsu too!"

"Er, I would, but... I'm pretty sure you're not a Doton user."

"How would you even know that!?"

"...Just a hunch," Kakashi demurred as he thought back to Minato and Kushina, ignoring Naruto's grumbles of protest. Earlier that day Sakura had approached him to reveal she'd purchased Chakra Induction Paper and discovered she had an affinity for Earth. He appreciated her initiative, but from what he could tell Sakura didn't have the proper reserves to be a ninjutsu specialist. Her style would instead most likely depend on her chakra control and taijutsu.

"I don't think most doton techniques suit you anyway," Sasuke commented to the kunoichi, as if reading Kakashi's thoughts. "I checked out a couple scrolls at the library after activating the Sharingan, and most of the low-level ones involve burrowing underground for surprise attacks. I don't know, it seems too indirect for you." He shrugged lazily, though Sakura seemed to be thoughtful now.

"But... I'm definitely the weakest one here—physically anyway—so... wouldn't indirect attacks work better?" she mused aloud.

"You're physically weak now, but you're getting stronger," Kakashi noted. "That strength training has been paying off. That said, personally I don't think you should focus on learning elemental jutsu until you've built up your stamina a bit more. You've been reading books on medical ninjutsu, right?"

"Oh, yeah," she confirmed, nodding vigorously. "I borrowed a couple from Masaru. Ryoko-sama left some really detailed notes in the margins, it's... kind of intimidating, to be honest." She scratched her neck as she spoke, her eyes flitting to the side. "Half of her notes actually don't have to _do_ with medical ninjutsu as much as chakra control. I think she was trying to reverse-engineer Tsunade's fighting style—"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and stopped listening at that point, too busy imagining Sakura shattering trees with her bare fists. It seemed oddly fitting given her somewhat violent tendencies and short temper, but could the world _really_ withstand another Tsunade?

"—I haven't had any luck convincing a medical ninja to show me the Mystical Healing Palm, so I can't actually _heal_ anything yet," Sakura continued when he zoned back in, sounding a bit sheepish. "But I've studied all I can about human anatomy, and I figured out some good vital points to aim for that most people wouldn't expect. Back in Wave, Haku let me practice with some of his senbon while we waited for the bridge to be finished, and he gave me one of his old books on poisons so I've been looking into that too."

"Poison?" Naruto squeaked, his face paling, while Kakashi looked at her with renewed interest.

"Fast acting? Slow? Paralytics?"

"Not sure yet," Sakura responded with a shrug. "I managed to gather the necessary plants for a slow-acting paralytic, but I think I should probably have supervision when I make it?"

"Definitely," Kakashi agreed without a second's hesitation. "How about we try making it tonight after training?" His student's face lit up with excitement as she eagerly voiced her agreement, and he smiled at her before turning to the other two. "Naruto, Sasuke, how about you two? Any major improvements you want to share?"

"Yeah! I totally beat up teme in yesterday's spar!" Naruto cheered, and Sasuke scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Shut up, dobe. You got in a couple lucky punches. Meanwhile, I _still_ managed to pop ten clones with a single fireball." The whiskered genin squawked in offense and began arguing with him angrily, making Kakashi huff a small sigh. He'd assigned the two to keep sparring outside their usual training sessions since they'd challenge each other, not to mention it would help them build a stronger connection. Rivalry could be an amazing motivator, after all.

Beyond that, he'd also started giving Naruto some special one-on-one training to help hone his taijutsu skills a bit. Thus far Naruto's Shadow Clone technique seemed to be his signature technique, so Kakashi expected they would be even more useful if they could throw proper punches. The sessions also cut down on his complaints about favoritism in regards to his special training sessions with Sasuke and Masaru to use the Sharingan.

In all honesty, his current level of hands-on involvement in his students' training surprised Kakashi. When he got assigned Team Seven, he hadn't expected to become this involved with _all_ of them. However, after what happened in Wave, he realized he couldn't slack with their training any more.

Strong opponents existed, and he wouldn't always be there to help. Naruto and Sasuke in particular would be highly-coveted targets, given Naruto's jinchuuriki status and Sasuke's Sharingan. Team Seven seemed to be cursed after all. His own team had whittled down to just himself, while Minato's team had also suffered its fair share of tragedies until only Jiraiya remained.

Looking at bright-eyed Naruto, fierce and determined Sakura, and quiet but heavily motivated Sasuke, Kakashi felt his heart clench at the thought of them encountering the same sort of tragedies he did during their career.

 _Team Seven's already suffered enough,_ he thought grimly. _Let's make this one a lucky number._

As he reflected over this Naruto gave a small cry, jumping and racing away from the clearing with an eager wave. "Masaru! You're back!" Sasuke and Sakura immediately turned in the direction their blond teammate ran, and sure enough the familiar brunette trudged towards them, relief clearly sparking in his eyes at the sight of them. Kakashi turned just in time to see the Uchiha boy greet Naruto with a tight hug, catching his student by obvious surprise.

"Thank you for being awesome and loud all the time and not glaring at everything," he mumbled, squeezing the startled blond. Naruto just stood in tense silence, looking mildly disconcerted by the sudden embrace, and it occurred to Kakashi he might need to work on getting him adjusted to friendly physical contact. Sasuke watched the exchange with a slightly bewildered look, while Sakura just snorted in amusement at Naruto's clearly lost expression.

"Uh, you're welcome?" he muttered uncertainly, awkwardly lifting his arms to return the hug. Masaru smiled as he pulled away, giving a sheepish shrug.

"Sorry, the team I had to escort has someone really scary on it so I'm just really relieved to see some friendly faces." As he spoke he turned to glance at Sasuke, who instinctively stepped back as if fearing another sudden embrace. It occurred to Kakashi he might need to work on the friendly contact thing with _all_ of his students. Granted, Sakura probably received plenty of hugs from her friends and family, but her rough nature hardly made her likely to _give_ one.

Deciding to rescue Sasuke from a potential public display of affection, Kakashi casually joined the conversation with a thoughtful hum. "Oh? Someone scary, you say? Hmm... You had to escort the team from Suna, right?" Masaru nodded and Naruto frowned, his features screwing in confusion.

"Huh? What're you talking about?" he asked, scratching at his whiskers. Next to him Sakura suddenly gasped, clapping her hands in realization.

"The Chuunin Exams! They're next week, aren't they?" Her teammates instantly perked to attention, their eyes immediately shifting towards to Kakashi. The jounin huffed a small sigh and slouched in resignation, realizing he'd dug himself into a hole on that one.

"Well, I was hoping you guys would forget, but it looks like I sabotaged myself by asking this time."

"We're entering," Sasuke told him firmly, earning vigorous nods of agreement from his teammates.

"...Maybe," Kakashi demurred, and his three adorable genin growled in irritation.

"We've been training our butts off!" Naruto snapped, angrily swinging a fist in the air. "Like _hell_ we're not entering!"

"Masaru, you've met one team," Sakura said, getting the Uchiha boy's attention. "Tell us about them. We'll probably go up against them at some point, so the more we know about them, the better."

"It's a bit early to scope out the competition when you still haven't confirmed you're entering," Kakashi muttered, but they chose to ignore him and focus on Masaru. The brunette frowned, his eyes squeezing shut in thought.

"...They're all siblings, two boys and one girl. The oldest one is the kunoichi, Temari, she's confident but I don't know what she does. You'll recognize her because she has blonde hair in four pigtails. The middle one is Kankurou, he dresses like a kabuki stagehand and has purple face paint. You can't miss him. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing he uses puppets?"

"Puppets?" Naruto repeated, blinking dumbly.

"That's pretty common in Suna," Sakura murmured thoughtfully. "Makes sense with the kabuki theme, too."

"Last one?" Sasuke pressed, and Masaru hesitated, a flicker of apprehension flashing through his features so briefly Kakashi nearly missed it.

"...Gaara," he replied after a moment. "Red hair, thick black rings around his eyes. Gourd strapped on his back." He paused. "He... has the kanji for 'love' on his forehead, above the right eye."

"Like, a tattoo?" Naruto asked, and Masaru frowned.

"No. A scar." The three genin stiffened, their eyes widening in surprise. Masaru's eyes flitted to Kakashi, and sensing his unspoken request the jounin stepped closer and crouched next to him. The boy cupped his hand around his mouth as he whispered into his ear as softly as possible, "Gaku-sensei, Genma-san and Raidou-san said they think he's a jinchuuriki."

Kakashi's eye widened in surprise and he quickly pulled his head away, straightening up with a contemplative expression on his face. "Is that so," he murmured thoughtfully. He knew Konoha already suspected Gaara to be the jinchuuriki, but for Tenzo to voice his agreement made it almost certain in Kakashi's mind. _His presence in the Exams might pose some unexpected trouble..._

Noting the curious looks his genin shot him, he paused and his eye crinkled in a smile. "Sorry guys, but Masaru just told me some rather... sensitive information. I'd prefer not to share it with you, since it might alter your perceptions a bit _too_ much if it's correct."

The genin groaned in annoyance and grumbled various complaints, but Kakashi chose to ignore them, turning back to Masaru. "In any event, thank you for letting us know. On an unrelated note, I'm glad you're here today, because I have something very interesting to share with you all and it actually relates to you."

His genin instantly stopped complaining as they snapped their gazes to Kakashi with full interest, even Masaru looking at him curiously. "Do you all remember the map in Masaru's room?"

"Hell yeah," Naruto confirmed, snickering. "Teme's butt started glowing and everything."

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke growled, smacking the blond on the back of his head.

"We really could've used that back in Wave," Sakura moaned tiredly, hunching over and massaging her forehead. "It would've saved us so much trouble if we knew we had a distress signal to send Konoha." Kakashi hummed in agreement, feeling a similar twinge of annoyance as he recalled the events that unfolded there. Considering he'd been forced to stay on bed rest for eight days after a _nonconsensual medical procedure on his transplanted eye_ , he _really_ wished they had access to one.

"Right... About that." Kakashi reached into his pants pocket and produced a familiar dark blue omamori, as well as a small violet pouch with a cherry blossom charm attached and a black wrist band with an orange swirl. The genin instantly perked up at the sight, Sasuke looking relieved to see his amulet, but Naruto and Sakura focused on the coin purse and wrist band with startled looks.

"AH!" Naruto yelled. "That's the stuff that weird talking cat gave us a couple weeks ago! I thought Ero-Sennin took it!"

"Well," Kakashi began, but paused as he processed Naruto's words. "Wait, Ero-Sennin?"

"It fits," Sakura declared flatly. Masaru and Sasuke just stared at them quizzically, wondering what happened. Secretly Kakashi agreed with the nickname, but he had too much respect for Jiraiya's abilities to openly state as much.

"Anyways," he coughed into his fist, though the mask ruined the effect, "They have the same seal Sasuke's little charm has. Based on our speculation, most likely Ryoko-san—Masaru's mother—prepared these back when you guys were still in the academy and left orders for her ninneko summons to deliver them later. With these, you guys can send a distress signal if you ever encounter trouble, which may come in handy _if_ you enter the Chuunin Exams."

"Wait a second," Sakura said, frowning. "Are you saying she somehow knew our future team assignments and made something just for us? And that... that she wouldn't be there to give it to us personally?"

"Actually, upon further investigation we discovered a good chunk of your graduating class received a little gift. Most of them got it indirectly like how they left the wrist band in Naruto's room, but Kiba reports one ninneko ambushed him outside the Inuzuka compound and spit out a necklace before turning tail and fleeing."

"...Why?" Sasuke asked, unsure how to respond to any of that.

"Ryoko had... issues," Kakashi responded carefully, glancing at Masaru to gauge his reaction. His deadpan stare seemed to reassure him he would be safe to continue. "She had a somewhat short but highly eventful career dogged by severe anxiety and paranoia, and tried to plan for every scenario possible. We suspect she made one for every student in her children's class in anticipation of them getting a team. She probably left her ninneko summons orders to deliver them to all the graduates in the event she died, most likely after we finally noticed the map had the seal."

"But... she didn't make me anything," Masaru interjected, his mouth curving into a dejected frown. "Why not?" The fact she prepared something for everyone else—even Kiba—left him feeling particularly melancholic. Kakashi just hummed, offering him a thoughtful glance.

"I don't know. But I personally suspect she _did_ make something for you. In fact, knowing her, she _definitely_ did. We just haven't found it yet." Turning to the others, he passed out the three items to each genin.

"...Kakashi," Sasuke said suddenly, looking at his omamori. "Why is there a drop of blood on the back?" Kakashi paused, blinking in mild surprise.

"Ah. That must have been from when Master Jiraiya, er, had a minor nosebleed." He coughed awkwardly while Sasuke visibly stiffened, as did Masaru and Sakura, both of whom shot the Uchiha knowing looks.

For once, Naruto didn't miss this subtle interaction. "Huh? Why are you guys looking at teme like that? What's going on with the charm?"

"Uh, well," Sakura mumbled, while Masaru sucked in a sharp breath.

"If either of you tell him, I am not speaking to you for a month," Sasuke deadpanned.

"I am terribly sorry I cannot tell you Naruto," Masaru informed Naruto blandly with a deep bow.

"Sorry Naruto, you heard him," Sakura said with a dismissive shrug. The blonde squawked in dismay, looking at them in betrayal.

"What!? No fair! Why can't you tell me! What's the big deal!?"

"Hey, I just got Sasuke-kun to talk to me! No way am I setting it back a month by blabbing to you!"

As the genin began bickering Kakashi huffed a small sigh, but his eye clearly glinted with amusement.

* * *

Later that night Sasuke woke up to notice light seeping through the crack under his door, a faint flowery aroma wafting through the door. Yawning tiredly, he climbed out of bed and trudged to the door, quietly opening it to peek outside. Masaru sat at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of tea, heavy bags under his eyes. The sight hardly bothered him, it seemed almost every week at least one of the Uchiha boys would end up at the table late at night.

Masaru didn't look at him as Sasuke trudged out of his bedroom, slipping into the chair next to him. "Bad dream?" he guessed tiredly, and his cousin shrugged, eyes still focused on his tea. Golden dragonflies decorated the white porcelain cup, each one's wings painted with unique ornate patterns so that no two matched. Ryoko's hand-painted teacups had been among the few belongings the two Uchiha boys had opted to bring to their new apartment, the sentimentality too powerful to ignore.

Twisting in his chair, Sasuke eyed the ingredients scattered on the kitchen counter before his gaze slid to one of Ryoko's many notebooks open. Squinting, he lifted from his seat slightly and read aloud, "Chamomile tea?"

"I just wanted to try it again so I dug up one of mom's recipes," Masaru mumbled tiredly, and Sasuke hummed.

"Is it good?"

"It's... flowery. Kinda mild, maybe a little biter. It washes down really easily. I'd probably like it, but..."

He trailed off, and after a long moment of silence Sasuke pressed, "But?"

"...It doesn't taste like the drink from my dream," Masaru replied softly, and quietly rose from his seat and treaded back to his room, sparing no final glance towards the cup. Sasuke watched him depart with a mild frown, wondering just what that meant.


	28. Chapter 27: Still Have Tests

Chapter 27

* * *

 _"Life is full of tests, the ones you face after school just go a little differently than the ones you're used to. I still think the universe is totally cheating me with that though."_

* * *

"You have all your shuriken and kunai? They're all sharp? You have your canteen too, right?"

"Masaru, calm down," Sasuke huffed, rolling his eyes as he zipped his weapons pouch shut. "You're worrying too much. I'll be fine."

"Sorry," Masaru apologized, rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish look. "It's just... The Chuunin Exams can be really dangerous. People die in them." Sasuke's expression softened a bit at the reminder and he sighed.

"Yeah, well, I won't. I have stuff to do before I die, and I'm not leaving you alone." He spoke a bit brusquely but Masaru smiled slightly at his words, dipping his head in gratitude. Sasuke strapped the pouch to his leg and the pair left the apartment in companionable silence.

Their paths veered almost instantly once they stepped outside, Sasuke nodding at him as he turned away. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Right. Good luck!" Masaru nodded back and turned to head the other way, and only when they'd left each other's line of sight did the black-haired Uchiha allow a small smirk to slip through.

Neither of them heard the soft click of a camera shutter from a nearby rooftop, a shadowy figure watching them part ways before swiftly disappearing.

* * *

Phase one of the Chuunin Exams passed with minimal events of note. Sakura had only slight trouble answering on her own but got enough correct to meet the stated minimum, and Sasuke just copied answers with his Sharingan. Naruto almost gave up at the final question but decided against it at the last minute, and so Team Seven got ushered to the next phase.

Which brought them to the latest dilemma.

Stars shined in Sakura's eyes as she trailed behind the proctor, a woman wearing a fishnet top and short skirt with only a trench coat preserving her modesty. "Anko-sama, you _have_ to sign your Bingo Book page for me!" she squealed, almost _skipping_ next to the woman. "I've been wanting it for ages!"

"You went through the trouble of digging up a Bingo Book entry on me?" she asked, grinning down at Sakura. "Man, that's awesome! Hell yeah I'll sign it, as long as _you_ buy _me_ dango afterwards!"

"It's a deal!" Sakura agreed with an enthusiastic nod, and Anko grinned and plopped her hand on the genin's head, ruffling her pink hair.

"Sweet! I'm holding you to it, got it?" Sakura beamed up at her, totally uncaring how messy her hair looked now.

"This is kinda freaky to watch," Naruto mumbled to Sasuke, and the Uchiha grunted with a small nod. Seeing Sakura act like a fangirl for someone other than him left him strangely unsettled. Resisting a shudder, he quickly turned his attention to the other examinees, idly scoping the competition.

Surprisingly the entire Rookie Nine showed up, along with a team from a year ahead that reminded Sasuke of Masaru's traumatized muttering about the horrors of the color green. He wondered briefly about how the rest of his graduating class had developed, but he had admittedly low expectations. He knew for a fact Team Seven's training had ramped up more than the norm due to Wave, Masaru's teacher Gaku had commented as much after he somehow got roped into Team Seven's team dinners.

Aside from them, two teams in particular stood out.

First, the team from Suna. Masaru had told him a bit more about the Sand Siblings in private, and after meeting them himself, Sasuke found himself agreeing with his cousin's sentiments. Something about the youngest, Gaara, felt heavily off. Even his own, _older_ siblings seemed to defer to him, their generally cocky attitudes faltering whenever he so much as glanced their way, something Sasuke probably wouldn't have noticed had Masaru not planted the seeds in his mind.

Next, the team from Oto. They drew attention to themselves in a rather pointed way, and the fact that Oto had only recently been formed left him uneasy. According to Sakura, the village had no known specialties or produced any famous shinobi yet, so they had no idea what to expect out of the Sound ninja. The trio had been particularly rough and loud, shamelessly shoving and threatening Kabuto before Ibiki showed up.

On that note, Yakushi Kabuto himself also caught his attention. The bespectacled man had approached the Rookie Nine alone and openly shared the information cards he'd collected on the other contestants. Sasuke vaguely recalled his name from Masaru's stories about his missions, so after asking about Gaara and Neji, on a whim he'd then inquired about his cousin's name.

 _"Uchiha Masaru, age thirteen,"_ he'd recited. _"He's completed a good chunk of D-ranks, three of which I also participated in, as well as a single C-rank escort quite recently. Overall his physical ability seems to be slightly above average, though he has yet to encounter an actual combat situation, so the available data on his actual skill is limited. Interestingly though, he's actually deaf in his right ear due to a childhood injury."_

Naturally Sasuke had known abut Masaru's partial deafness after seeing his ear bandaged up, but most of the Rookie Nine had voiced great surprise at that particular revelation. Their reactions made him suddenly realize just how few people actually knew about it; it didn't hinder Masaru enough to be particularly noticeable, and he generally kept to himself so it rarely came up in conversation.

Sasuke supposed Kabuto could have found out during one of their missions, but the fact he specifically took note of it seemed kind of strange.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the silver-haired man talk to his team, his hand reaching into his pocket to run his thumb over the omamori. He had no particular feelings about Kabuto making a card on Sasuke himself, but he did _not_ like the idea of someone cataloguing one of Masaru's weaknesses like that.

His fingers curled around the homemade talisman, his jaw clenching. Masaru was the only family he had left, and he would be damned if he let anything happen to him.

* * *

"Hey, Uncle Obito. Sorry I haven't come by as much, I've been kinda busy."

Masaru smiled sheepishly as he crouched in front of Obito's grave, wiping down the stone with a damp cloth. Since becoming a genin he hadn't been able to visit the grave as often as he used to, and a lot of dirt had accumulated since the last visit. He felt slightly guilty for leaving his uncle alone for so long, even if the grave might be empty. Sometimes he swore he could feel Obito's presence listening to him.

Even now, he felt that warm tingle of someone watching him, making him smile faintly. Wringing the dirty cloth over the grass, he dipped it in the bucket again and continued wiping the slab, talking all the while.

"A lot's happened since my last visit. Last week I went on my first C-rank mission, we had to help escort some of the genin from Suna who're in town for the Chuunin Exams. Sasuke's taking the Chuunin Exams today, too. Gaku-sensei gave me the week off because he has to help guard." That particular piece of news had been a bit surprising to Masaru, and even now his mind flashed back to the previous day.

 _"As you've probably already figured out, I'm actually part of ANBU," Gaku told him at the end of their training session, mouth ghosting into a smile as he folded his arms. "I can't share all the details, but I've been asked to provide an extra security detail during the second phase of the Chuunin Exams. I have..._ skills _, that will be very useful there if something happens."_

 _"That's very vague and unhelpful," Masaru noted dryly, and Gaku sighed._

 _"I have to be, for now. Once the exams are over, maybe I'll tell you about it though. On that note, we'll be pretty busy between the second and third phase. Just think of this week as a rest period."_

"I still don't know what he means by being busy, but it sounds ominous," he groaned, shaking his head. "I'm kinda scared to find out... Anyways, it's kinda weird not having anything to do. I went to the training grounds this morning before I remembered he gave me the day off." He laughed sheepishly at his small slip, and his chuckles soon tapered off, his features softening into a small, melancholic smile.

"...I showed it to Kakashi. My Sharingan, I mean. I finally figured out he was your teammate. I talked to him about you. He didn't say much, I think it hurts him to think about you because he really misses you. Kinda like..." Masaru trailed off, his gaze sliding down the rows of graves to a trio of familiar tombstones.

 _Kinda like how mom felt about dad_ , his mind finished for him.

As he looked towards the graves a flash of purple caught his eye, giving him pause. Setting down the rag, Masaru slowly rose to his feet and wandered over, feeling slightly on edge. Violet asters and bluebells rested in front of his mother's grave in a small bouquet tied together with a white string, the petals dried and wilted but the color still rather vibrant. His sister's grave had another bouquet, this one containing purple hyacinths. As he drew closer a flash of red caught his eye at the grave on the other side of his father's, making him falter.

A single camellia lay before a small tombstone, once vivid red petals darkened to an almost brown. Approaching it slowly, Masaru crouched and picked up the dried flower, glancing at the grave curiously. Most Uchiha graves had only the name of the deceased and no dates, the clan choosing to record relevant dates in the family register, and this one proved no different.

"Uchiha Tsubaki," he read aloud, frowning at the unfamiliar name. His eyes flitted to the withered camellia in his hand, the dried petals reminding him of blood. A small shudder coursed through his body, and he let it fall back into the grass.

"Oho, so someone still visits these graves after all."

The sudden entrance of a new voice startled him and Masaru whirled in surprise to see a man with long white hair pulled into a bushy ponytail stood several rows away, a bouquet of white anemones and strange blossoms that seemed to resemble a bird clutched to his chest. Nodding at Masaru in acknowledgment, the stranger resumed walking and stopped next to the boy, setting the bouquet in front of his mother's grave.

Masaru studied the man's face as he looked at the tombstone with a sad smile, noting the long red lines trailing down from his eyes. A sudden jolt of deja vu assaulted him and he abruptly recognized the man from back in the Hokage's office two days ago, staring at his mother's map. Blinking, he looked at the man with renewed curiosity, and soon enough the stranger's eyes slowly slid over to Masaru.

"Hey there," he greeted, nodding at Masaru. "I saw you back in sensei's office, but I don't think we got introduced. The name's Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya," Masaru repeated carefully, as if testing it. Something about his face still felt familiar, tugging at the fringes of his memories. "Um... have we met? Before that?"

"A couple times," the man confirmed, smirking faintly. "Surprised you remembered it, the last time you would've been two or three. Your mom had a neighbor cart you and your sister off pretty fast, so we only saw each other for a couple minutes. It's nice to finally meet you all grown up. Ryoko-chan talked about you a lot in her letters, I just wish I could've met your sister, too."

"...Yeah." Masaru slowly nodded, frowning as he looked at the wilted purple hyacinths on Akari's grave. _Regret,_ some voice told him. Purple hyacinths meant regret. He didn't know where he'd heard it, but it certainly seemed fitting with the melancholic smile the man wore.

Rising to his feet, he turned to face Jiraiya and dipped into a respectful bow. "Thank you for thinking of my family, Jiraiya-san," he murmured, and he meant it. Few people ever seemed to think about Akari or Ryoko, instead just focusing on him as the sole survivor of his small family.

He didn't see Jiraiya's smile fade, his face growing somber as he glanced to the two graves. "No need to thank me," he muttered. "Really." Masaru frowned and raised his head with a quizzical look, but by that point Jiraiya had already plastered on another smile. "Hey, I just had an idea. Do you have anything planned for today?"

"Um, no...?"

"Perfect!" Jiraiya grinned and placed his hands on Masaru's shoulders, an almost mischievous twinkle in his eye. "In that case, I'm going to pass on a little jutsu!"

* * *

Finding and taking down their first team had been startlingly easy. A brief distraction by a horde of transformed clones, a quick flick of a shuriken laced with weak paralytics followed by a light genjutsu fueled by the Sharingan to cause some slight disorientation, and Team Seven managed to easily subdue a team of unsuspecting Waterfall genin.

"Tch, it's the same scroll we have," Sasuke declared after rifling through their bags, tossing the pilfered scroll atop the piled heap of unconscious foreign teens. Sakura sighed in frustration, running a hand through her hair.

"Dang it, what a waste of poison," she muttered glumly, disappointed to have wasted her work. She could only make so many doses of the paralytics and poisons after all, what with her limited budget and even more limited access to decent ingredients. Acquiring higher-quality and more potent ingredients simply involved too many permits for a genin, Kakashi had to buy a couple of them for her.

Sakura took a moment to quietly mourn the waste, and then added irritably, "And Naruto, get rid of those clones already or at least shut them up!" She glared at the small cluster of clones currently hopping around the edge of the clearing hooting and grunting like monkeys, each one naked save for clusters of leaves covering their most sensitive bits and big red noses. Jungle clowns certainly worked as a good distraction, but once they'd taken down the enemy it just got on her nerves.

The clones all dispersed with a poof, Naruto grumbling irritably under his breath about finding it pretty funny, but his teammates appeared satisfied by the newfound quiet. "We're moving on," Sasuke declared, and his teammates followed in rather satisfied silence. Not even five minutes had passed since they'd first sighted the other team, and the speed and ease of their takedown left them feeling suitably empowered.

If only the high could last...

* * *

" _Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!_ "

Masaru's cheeks puffed outwards as he blew a large fireball, the sphere rapidly expanding to a diameter of several meters. Jiraiya watched with a keen eye as it hovered above the lake for a few seconds before dissipating, the Uchiha boy sighing tiredly before turning to face him. "I don't get why you want me to show you that," he mumbled. "It's one of my clan's specialties, but..."

"I just needed to gauge your proficiency with katon jutsu," Jiraiya assured him smoothly, not missing a beat. "Tell me, what do you know about your mom's career?"

Masaru frowned slightly at the question, glancing away. "Not much," he admitted quietly. "I know that she knew a lot about fuinjutsu and the Sharingan, and she had ninneko summons, but she had books on so many subjects I can't really get a sense of anything else. She never really talked about it."

"In that case, do you know what they called her?" When Masaru shook his head, Jiraiya let a small smirk show. "The Bloody Sunburst."

"The... Bloody Sunburst?" The name seemed to surprise the boy, his face growing contemplative as his eyes flitted to the ground again, and—Jiraiya paused. For a second he saw a small girl standing in his place, face somber and dark eyes carrying an unfathomable weight. Just as quick as it appeared the vision vanished, and his mouth pressed into a firm line as he studied the boy with an even more critical eye.

"Something on your mind, kid?" he asked, and Masaru blinked before shaking his head.

"N-no, I just... remembered something. That's all." Jiraiya eyed him curiously, but after a few moments of thought he decided not to press it.

"Alright then. Back to the point, she got that nickname from her signature katon technique, ' _Seven-Beam Sunburst,_ ' which left a scorched pattern in the earth that looked like a bunch of beams radiating from her position. Not gonna lie, it's probably one of the deadliest katon jutsu I've ever seen."

Ryoko's Seven-Beam Sunburst had merited Ryoko a great deal of respect from both friend and foe alike. Even now Jiraiya could clearly envision the Uchiha kunoichi slamming her hands to the ground, rows of fire rippling from her position in seven directions. Avoiding it proved harder than one would expect, as the rows fanned out and grew in intensity as they surged further away from her at ridiculous speeds, until they merged together to form a large, blazing ring of white flame.

It only lasted a few seconds before the flames totally dissipated, but the technique had a unique destructive nature that spared not even allies. Even if someone managed to muster the necessary speeds to outrun the flames, the sheer intensity of their heat _alone_ could still cause mild burns. Ryoko had to plaster her own body with seals to ward against the heat, and even then the technique still required a minimum radius of three meters for her to use it safely. How she managed to develop it without killing herself in the process still eluded him.

Masaru watched Jiraiya with a contemplative look, his head tilting thoughtfully. "Are you going to teach it to me?"

"Unfortunately, no," he told the boy. "She never taught it to me, and besides that, it's _way_ above your pay grade. Not to mention I don't actually have that much time. But, while it was definitely her most famous one, it wasn't her favorite."

Flashing through a series of hand seals, Jiraiya parted his hands and blew on them lightly. Blue flames flickered into existence around his right fist, shimmering and wavering with chakra as they conformed to the shape of his hand. Masaru's eyes widened and his Sharingan unconsciously activated, studying the fire closely.

"That fire is full of more chakra than normal katon jutsu," he mused aloud, clearly awestruck, and Jiraiya nodded with a smug grin.

"Good eye, kid. This is Foxfire, a special fire jutsu Ryoko invented." As he spoke he unclenched his fist and flexed his fingers, the flames stretching around them like claws. "Foxfire is unique in that it has a more corporeal form than most fire due to the extra heavy infusion of chakra. That gives the user a bit more room for control over the flames than usual, so they can be a bit more creative with it."

Spinning around, he swiped his hand in the direction of a nearby tree and a part of the flames shot out like needles, striking the trunk and leaving claw-like gauges in the bark. Black marks appeared as the gashes visibly smoldered around the edges, the smell of charred wood drifting their way, but the tree didn't catch fire like Masaru expected.

"As you can see, not only can you throw it like weapons, but with enough practice you can control the heat and density of the flames, making it possible to punch or scratch someone without actually setting them on fire."

"Woah," Masaru whispered, studying the tree with awe. Turning to Jiraiya, he asked, "How does it work?" The Sannin smirked smugly at the eager spark in the child's eyes, letting the flames dissolve as he explained.

"Well Masaru, there are many components in this jutsu, but the two most important ones are strong chakra control and fast reflexes. See, this is technically a combination of both nature transformation _and_ shape transformation, which can be pretty tricky to pull off together. Shaping your chakra is a pretty advanced form of chakra control, and adding a nature transformation on top of that can be damn near impossible sometimes. Even the Fourth Hokage had been unable to combine them in one of his creations.

"But luckily for us," he said, flashing through the hand seals once more, "Ryoko-chan came up with a little shortcut, at least for fire." Cupping his hands around his mouth, Jiraiya blew a small fireball only a few inches in diameter, allowing it to swirl around for a few seconds so Masaru could study it before releasing the jutsu. It dissolved almost instantly, and he lowered his hands. "That was a specialized version of your clan's fireball, and it is the secret to Foxfire."

"And Mom taught it to you?" Masaru asked, sounding surprised. Not that Jiraiya could blame him; the Uchiha usually tended to be pretty stingy with revealing their family's techniques. Ironic given they tended to steal others' jutsu so easily with the Sharingan.

"Eventually," he allowed. "It's a bit different from your clan's standard Grand Fireball, so it's not exactly a 'clan secret,' more of a 'Ryoko secret.' Using it is the first step to performing Foxfire. While it's hard to do both nature and shape transformations at once, it's infinitely easier to manipulate and shape a preexisting element than to add a nature transformation while shaping it."

"Like that water dragon Kakashi used," Masaru said slowly, remembering Team Seven's story about his fight with Zabuza, and Jiraiya grinned.

"Now you're getting it. That jutsu borrows water from nearby bodies of water, so he only has to infuse it with his chakra so he can shape it. While normally it's best to use naturally occurring variants, in this case Ryoko found a loophole. Once you release the jutsu, the fireball is _technically_ independent of your body and chakra system, at which point you can 'snag' it and re-infuse it with your chakra. That's where the fast reflexes come in," Jiraiya added. "It's small so it only lasts a few seconds."

"That's why you blew on your fist, right?" Masaru realized. "To get it in contact with your chakra before it could fade?" Jiraiya nodded, offering him an appreciative smile. Fast read, this kid. Geniuses could be boring to teach compared to more creative students, but it saved him some time.

"Yep, that's right," he confirmed, "but it'll be a while before you can do that. Blowing it directly on your fist runs a risk of burning yourself if you don't have enough practice, so to start you'll have to blow into the air and quickly infuse it with chakra by swiping through it with . It took Ryoko a good year of training before she had the reflexes necessary to safely pull that off. And it took another three months to use it without fireproofed gloves—which, of course, I'll provide," he added with an ever-gracious and only _slightly_ smug smile.

"So with that said," he continued, "We'll start off with just _making_ the fireball. This one is different from the regular one because it's a lot smaller, but it's also more densely packed so the flames are more intense than normal, so it requires a bitt more control to pull off correctly. You'll probably end up burning yourself a little before you get the hang of it, but if you're okay with that, we can begin whenever you're ready."

Masaru responded to Jiraiya with a vigorous nod, his face filling with an earnest determination. "I'm ready."

As Jiraiya looked at him he saw a flash of a small dark-haired girl in his place once more, her black eyes smoldering with deep resolve as she glared up at him defiantly, and the old man couldn't help but smile at the nostalgia the memories brought.

* * *

Several hours had passed since the start of the second phase, and a good chunk of the Leaf shinobi involved with this year's exam had convened in a small wooden structure near Training Ground 44 which had been specially erected to serve as a base of operations. Various proctors and chuunin milled about the room discussing security measures, while the three jounin sensei in charge of the Rookie Nine eyed a map showing a basic layout of the Forest of Death.

"So if the kids run into any trouble, they just have to pump their chakra into those little trinkets and their location will show up on that map, huh?" Asuma mused, reaching for a cigarette. Kurenai slapped his hand away before he could put it in his mouth, shooting him a dark look.

"Don't smoke inside," she scolded, and turned back to the map with a sigh. "I hope the kids don't end up needing it. I made sure to tell them to use it if they get into serious trouble and don't think they can pass in one piece, but knowing Kiba he probably wouldn't use it anyway."

"I wouldn't be surprised if my team never used it at all," Kakashi commented with a sigh. "I probably shouldn't have told them that it may get them disqualified. They're all pretty bull-headed so I can't imagine them using it, even if two of them were half-dead." Sakura, maybe, since she had taken the role of the level-headed member of the team, but Naruto and Sasuke? Never. It would hurt their prides too much. He shook his head in mild frustration, and Asuma offered him a small smirk.

"You think so, huh? Well, I probably won't have that problem with _my_ team. Ino might complain, but Shikamaru wouldn't listen to her and just use it anyway, and Chouji always follows his lead."

Bragging about a team's willingness to call for help during the Chuunin Exams seemed strange, but none of the jounin thought on it too much. After Jiraiya deciphered the mechanics of the seal, the Hokage ordered him to prepare a map of the Forest of Death to use in the second stage of the Chuunin Exams. Due to the still-sensitive nature of the seal's existence they chose to use only the pre-prepared seals Ryoko had made for the Rookie Nine, who, as the newest genin, would be the most likely to need it.

The three newest jounin sensei would have entered their teams anyway, but the ability for their students to signal for help certainly made the decision easier.

"I still don't really like it," Genma muttered, tipping his chair back as he listened in on their conversation. "While I get it makes it safer and all that, the whole point of the second phase is to prove teams can survive on an actual mission without a jounin to save them. Having a way to call for help if it gets too hard kinda defeats the purpose."

"It does a bit," Asuma agreed, "But given everything that's happened lately, I think it's a good precaution." As he spoke everyone's gazes slid to Kakashi, who chose to ignore them and stare at the map in heavy silence.

A watered-down version of the events in Wave had been released to a select group of jounin and high-ranking officials, explaining about a masked man kidnapping him after he collapsed from chakra exhaustion before ultimately releasing him. They carefully omitted his tampering with Kakashi's Sharingan, but released enough information to confirm the man expressed a strong interest in the doujutsu. The event had sparked a renewed paranoia among Konoha's officials, and so they had even more security measures in place than usual for their star Uchiha's first Chuunin Exam.

ANBU agents had been stationed at various points throughout the forest, many of them trusted members of his own Team Ro, but even so Kakashi felt a mild tug of anxiety in his chest. The masked man had expressed a strong familiarity with Kakashi and Konoha in general, and as it stood he had no idea of the man's actual abilities. Depending on what he knew and what skills he possessed, he might be able to sneak past their defenses—or even just simply walk through the gates.

They didn't know his face, so he could easily slip in by joining one of the teams visiting for the Chuunin Exams. Konoha couldn't exactly run detailed background checks on _all_ the entrants without risking an international incident, after all. The thought of the man possibly walking in the Forest right now made Kakashi's stomach churn. If he decided to target them this time...

A firm hand pressed on his shoulder and he turned in slight surprise to see Gai standing behind him, flashing a sparkling grin. "Don't worry, my Cool and Youthful Eternal Rival! I am certain your team shall be perfectly fine!" The booming reassurances eased his nerves just a little, and Kakashi nodded and started to reply when the door suddenly slammed open, a chuunin bursting in with a frantic look on his face.

"Everyone! Three faceless corpses have been found and identified as a team from Kusa! Anko-sama has ordered an alert to be sent to all ANBU stationed in the forest to begin searching and has already entered the forest in pursuit!"

Pandemonium instantly broke out at the news, one of the proctors scrambling to grab the radio set and alert the ANBU units while the handful of ANBU waiting on standby flickered away to enter the forest. "Shit, someone infiltrated the test?" Asuma growled, getting to his feet. Kakashi rose as well, shooting Gai a pointed look.

"They'll be fine, eh?" he repeated under his breath, and the spandex-wearing beast's grin grew weaker.

"Don't be too harsh on him," Genma interjected, already in the process of collecting his gear to head out. "Right now all we know is that someone killed a team and infiltrated the exams. That doesn't instantly mean they're after your genin."

"The chances might be higher than you think," Kurenai murmured gravely, catching their attention, and the others turned to find her staring at the map. A single bead of colored light shined brightly deep in the forest, and Kakashi felt his blood run cold as he recognized the distinct pink hue and the glowing kanji for ' _Strength_ ' floating next to it.


	29. Chapter 28: Deadly Venomous Snakes

Chapter 28

* * *

 _"Not all snakes are venomous, but they're all slimy and have sharp teeth that can still draw blood. When in doubt, **run.** "_

* * *

Sakura gritted her teeth as she pressed her back against the tree, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. Nearby Sasuke and Naruto confronted the enemy, a lone Grass kunoichi who had appeared out of no where following a giant gust of wind. Their original plan had been for the boys to distract her while Sakura hid and prepared to throw one of her paralytic-laced shuriken at the stranger, but then the woman summoned a snake and Sakura found herself hesitating.

Serpentine eyes flashed through her memory, an instinctive shudder running down her spine. Nearly every Bingo Book she'd collected over the years had the same face on the first page, a gaunt, white-skinned man with yellow eyes and a slimy smirk. Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin and the most notorious missing-nin from Konoha, had left a strong impression on her even in just photograph form. Snakes happened to be his personal summon, so intrinsic to his fighting style and persona that every Bingo Book mentioned it at the top of known abilities.

Three years ago when Sakura first found a bingo book entry on Mitarashi Anko, it had included two particular details of note that had stuck with her. First, Anko happened to be one of Orochimaru's former students, which had definitely smudged her reputation in the village despite cutting ties with the traitor. However, though she had disowned him as her teacher, their relationship still had one connection which persisted: she happened to be the only other known living person who had signed a contract with the Snake summons.

Seeing as Sakura distinctly remembered this particular Grass genin interacting with Anko right before the phase began, she easily dismissed the possibility of her role model transforming into the genin. She could be another random student Orochimaru had taken on after defecting. But given that the Grass "genin" had showed off a _very_ long and flexible tongue earlier, and how she currently displayed an almost boneless quality as she attacked Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura had to begrudgingly dismiss that theory.

No, all the evidence pointed to their assailant being the traitorous Sannin himself in disguise, which meant Big Trouble. Her heart pounded wildly with fear and terror as she swiftly reviewed all of her knowledge of their opponent. Her stomach twisted as she recalled the bare-bones details she'd been able to find on his experiments during her long hours of research on various names in the Bingo Book, so cruel and inhumane that they left her wanting to vomit even without specific details involved.

Her gaze flickered to the shuriken in her hand, biting down on her lip in indecision. Would her paralytics even work? No, she realized, she had concocted a rather basic one from Haku's book, and the chances of Orochimaru _not_ developing an immunity to the ingredients involved given his own history were laughably dismal. Right now Sasuke and Naruto risked their lives facing the man, waiting for her to act out her part of a plan she _knew_ wouldn't work.

Frustration surged through her as she harshly stowed away the shuriken and began rummaging through her weapons pouch, her mind whirling desperately in search of a better strategy. Her fingers brushed against something soft and Sakura paused, her eyes widening as she recognized the small coin purse Kakashi had returned just a week ago. _The map!_

Snatching it out of the weapons pouch, Sakura closed her fist around it and pumped chakra into the purple pouch, glimpsing the kanji for ' _Strength'_ sewn onto the side light up and fluctuate between red and pink. "Please, notice it soon," she whispered in a quiet prayer, slipping it back into her weapons pouch. No sooner had she done that than she felt the hairs on her neck suddenly rise, and on instinct Sakura dove away from the tree just before it shattered under the sudden impact of a large snake.

Rolling along the ground and landing in a crouch, she spun to face the battle with gritted teeth, instinctively retrieving a kunai from her pouch. An unpoisoned kunai wouldn't do much good against an opponent like this, but the familiar feeling of the hilt in her hand provided a faint sense of comfort and false assurance that made her tighten her grip.

"My, hiding while your teammates risk their lives?" the supposed "genin" taunted with a smirk, and for half a second Sakura thought she saw their tongue flicker in their mouth like a snake's. "That's quite low, isn't it? Especially for Konoha, which _prides_ itself on teamwork and friendship." Sakura's pulse slid to a halt at the venomous lilt draping from the last sentence, her muscles paralyzed by the intensity of their stare.

An orange blur barreled to the ground next to her and suddenly she found Naruto grabbing her arm and jerking her to her feet. "Sakura-chan, move!" he screamed, and hauled her into the air with a giant leap just before a snake crashed into the spot she'd occupied. Even as they jumped to safety Sasuke appeared behind the stranger, hands already flashing through the seals for a Grand Fireball, and a fiery inferno erupted from his mouth scorching the area their opponent stood.

Burning grass and wood blew their way as Naruto directed their jump to land atop a nearby branch, at which point he grabbed Sakura by the shoulders. "Sakura-chan, snap out of it!" he hissed, giving her a hard shake as his eyes flashed with panic and concern. "You were supposed to throw that shuriken at her so we could slow her down!"

Sakura swallowed thickly, the motion difficult with the heavy dryness that had dominated her mouth. "It wouldn't work," she whispered, shaking her head.

"Hah? What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"That person. He— _she_ — _they're_ , th-they're not normal." Noticing her body had begun to shake violently, she folded her arms over her chest to try to still the tremors. She tried to steady her erratic heartbeat as she swallowed again, her next words coming out careful and measured. "I... I threw out my favorite kunai."

Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized the secret code phrase they'd settled upon to alert the others if they sent the distress signal. Sakura quickly looked at her feet, knowing that he wouldn't respond well to the news. After entering the forest all three members Team Seven had made a vow to each other not to use the seals no matter what, and yet she'd gone and done it on her own anyway.

Sure enough Naruto's shock quickly gave way to an irritated scowl, his voice rising into a high-pitched hiss that didn't rise from a whisper but clearly emulated yelling. "What? Are you _serious_!? I know that guy's really strong, but you haven't even _tried_ yet!"

Sucking in a sharp breath, Sakura steadied her trembling and raised her head to meet his gaze, her own eyes full of a sudden steely calm that gave him pause. "Naruto, I am ninety-nine percent certain that 'genin' is Orochimaru." For a moment Naruto looked at her blankly before comprehension suddenly dawned.

"W-wait, Orochimaru?" he squeaked, paling to a shade almost as white as the man in question. "Y-you mean that guy from the Sannin you talked about?"

"Yes, Naruto," Sakura confirmed with a grim nod, grimacing as she dared a glance at the ongoing fight. Sasuke's fireball had well since faded by this point to reveal scorch marks on the ground, but no traces of their opponent remained. The Uchiha immediately reacted by jumping away, and barely two seconds later _another_ snake exploded from the ground where he'd been standing.

Watching the chaos with wide-eyed horror, Naruto turned to look at Sakura and said, "Shit."

Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Sakura realize she had been speaking to a shadow clone the entire time. Seconds later she heard a loud chorus of whispered curses echoing all around them and Sasuke whipped his head to look around in surprise, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he registered Naruto's hidden clones simultaneously cursing. His gaze lingered when it landed upon Sakura, the kunoichi just staring back at him with grave horror.

Hearing a soft whistle behind her, Sakura instantly leapt down from the branch and barely avoided a kunai whizzing through the space that her head had occupied. Upon hitting the tree it exploded with a giant _boom_ that did not seem to fit the tag's size, and the resulting shockwave from the explosion struck Sakura mid-fall. The force sent her hurtling to the ground for a less-than-graceful impact, crashing into the dirt and painfully skinning her arms and legs as she slid forward several feet.

The second she stopped Sasuke appeared next to her, helpfully hoisting her to her feet with a single tug on her arm. Pain surged through her tender legs at having her weight on the just-pulled muscle but she ignored it and immediately jumped backwards with Sasuke to avoid a rain of kunai and shuriken. The second they landed the pair turned and fled, her teammate shooting her a dark look.

"What the hell happened to the strategy?" he demanded hotly.

"Change of plans," she informed him, rummaging through her pouch. "No time to explain, but if I'm right this guy is stronger than Zabuza." Her words made Sasuke visibly tense, though his steps never slowed. Pulling out a kunai with a bright red wrap around the handle, she nodded to Sasuke and said, "Focus on buying time."

With that final order she whipped around and threw the kunai behind her, watching it plunge into a tree. The bandages unraveled to reveal an explosive tag which promptly ignited and burst into a large plume of dark brown smoke, spreading a sharp, pungent odor through the nearby area. Naruto had conceived the stink-bomb exploding kunai in Wave, and while it had seemed a frivolous addition to her arsenal, Sakura now felt grateful for his insistence on its inclusion. She knew that most snakes depended on their sense of smell due to poor eyesight, and hopefully these wouldn't be different.

Sure enough, several of the serpents hissed and recoiled in dismay, making various noises of disgust as the odor assaulted them. Recognizing the effect the smell had on the snakes, the Naruto clones surged into action and sprung from various points in the trees to litter the serpents with their own arsenal of rigged kunai. Each sticky explosion amplified the nauseating odor to the point that Sasuke and Sakura's eyes began watering, but the overwhelming stench momentarily stunned the snakes and they couldn't waste the opportunity.

Skidding to a halt and spinning to race back towards them, Sasuke whipped out his shuriken and rained them upon the frozen serpents. They couldn't react fast enough and most of the shuriken managed to hit their targets with no problems, their cries of pain echoing loudly as the sharp points pierced through their scales. Two of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, the shuriken embedding too deep in their bodies to continue fighting safely, but the other three recovered swiftly and flung themselves at the Uchiha.

This time Sakura launched forward, ignoring the awful stench as she pulled out her own shuriken and threw them at the pouncing snakes. At the same time a barrage of Naruto clones descended from the trees, aiming harsh kicks at their backs with furious roars. Blood flew from at least one snake's mouth as a clone stomped it to the forest floor and a sickening crack echoed upon impact, followed by Sakura's shuriken burying into its neck to force it back. The remaining two managed to slither out of the way and sprung at the clones with jaws extended to expose their sharp, sharp fangs.

Sasuke and Sakura used those precious few seconds of distraction to launch a retreat, loud pops sounding behind them to signify the clones had been popped. At this point they had no idea where the real Naruto was, but they could only hope he would be fine. Kami knew they could barely save themselves as it stood.

A flash of movement caught Sakura's eye and her gaze snapped to the ground to see the earth trembling just ahead of them. Her breath hitched and she screamed, "Look out!" but it was too late. Another snake suddenly erupted from the earth, this one the largest yet, and the resulting explosion of displaced earth and soil sent her and Sasuke tumbling back. The snake launched towards Sasuke, its jaws unhinging to reveal the so-called "genin" emerging.

Twisting their torso like a corkscrew as they emerged, their hand abruptly shot toward Sasuke, their arm stretching in a boneless manner to extend its reach to impossible lengths. Slimy fingers grabbed the shocked genin by the throat, a choked gasp escaping him as they tightened painfully. The assailant's upper body instantly stretched across the gap while their legs remained in the snake's mouth, and Sasuke's eyes widened in horror as their sticky hair fell away of their face.

Saliva and venom coated their—no, _his_ face to give it a sickly sheen, his mouth twisted into a demented grin that sent shudders down Sakura's spine. "My, so creative," the crazed shinobi crooned, yellow eyes glinting with a manic glee visible to Sakura even from several yards away as he surveyed his trapped prey. "Your whole team is quite interesting, isn't it?" Clear fluid spewed from Sasuke's mouth as the man's hold tightened even further around his neck, his captor's smile growing malicious as he leaned closer to hiss only loud enough for Sasuke himself to hear, "But I only have eyes for _one_ of you."

Before the man could do anything else a loud crack sounded and suddenly a series of sharp wooden spikes erupted from the soil beneath them, spiraling directly towards his body. The "genin" swiftly retracted his torso and head before either could get impaled, lightly loosening his hold on Sasuke's neck in the process. A vine immediately shot out and ensnared the Uchiha around the waist, yanking him away from the man's grip with a harsh jerk and pulling him into the trees.

Cloaked figures suddenly filled the clearing, one appearing right in front of Sakura in a defensive position. Though they wore hoods that shaded their faces she caught glimpses of porcelain white masks within the shadows and immediately registered the new arrivals as ANBU. Under other circumstances Inner Sakura would probably be screeching with delight at the sight of so many of their future comrades and subordinates, but as it stood Sakura just felt too overwhelmed to particularly care.

"Retreat now," the one in front of her ordered, not turning away from their opponent. "Tiger will escort your team to safety."

"T-Tiger?" she sputtered, still struggling to process everything. As if on cue another ANBU agent appeared next to her, this one wearing a mask with red and green stripes and a distinct feline shape to its eyes. He swept her off her feet and whisked her away without a word, the scenery blurring as he ran at speeds she had only _dreamed_ of. Her heart pounded wildly as her head forcibly rested against his chest due to the sheer momentum of his pace, her ear pressing in just the right place to faintly hear the smooth, steady rhythm of his heartbeat through his armor and clothing.

" _CHYA!_ " Inner Sakura yelled excitedly. " _This is AWESOME! Dammit, this would be even cooler if it was Sasuke!_ "

Yes. Yes it would be. Damsels in distress always annoyed her, but if it was Sasuke-kun...

By the time the ANBU finally landed Sakura's face had turned a bright cherry red, fantasies of Sasuke carrying her bridal style filling her mind. It took her a second to register they'd stopped, and she quickly blinked and shook her head before he set her on her feet. Two clones of the man waited alongside Naruto and Sasuke, her teammates looking just as shaken as she felt.

"What the hell just happened?" Naruto asked, looking a bit queasy from the speedy run.

"I have no idea anymore," Sasuke grumbled, rubbing his forehead.

"Your team has been targeted by a notorious S-rank missing ninja," the ANBU informed them, his clones dispersing. Hand fluttering towards his ear, Sakura realized he must be wearing a radio set under his hood because he nodded and told them, "Currently my comrades and Mitarashi Anko are engaging him in battle, but they lack the necessary power to defeat him and he'll likely flee before stronger reinforcements can arrive. There is a chance that when he escapes he will go after your team again."

His words served as a harsh callback to reality for Sakura, banishing all lingering thoughts of Sasuke's well-toned chest as the past five minutes crashed back into the forefront of her mind. Her head spun dizzily at the prospect of possibly fighting the man again, her heartbeat spiking anxiously. Naruto looked similarly uneasy and uncertain, while Sasuke just scowled.

"Who the hell is he?" her teammate demanded coldly, his eyes narrowed.

The ANBU hesitated, and then confirmed Sakura's worst fears: "One of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru."

At that point the stress finally caught up to her, and she doubled over and vomited.

* * *

Nightfall found the trio of genin huddled in the hollow of a giant tree, their bodies pressed together as they gazed into the darkness with wary eyes. They had decided against building a fire as the glow could draw attention, only lighting one long enough to roast the meat of a large predatory bird they'd felled earlier. Even then, they made sure to conceal the fire as much as possible, and only roasted the meat long enough so it couldn't be called "raw".

Sasuke frowned as he stared into the darkness, his Sharingan flickering to life so the trees came into sharper focus. Somewhere out there a full ANBU squadron lurked, watching their team from places they couldn't even imagine. When Team Seven had expressed their desire to continue the exam regardless of the risk, Tiger arranged to have a team watch the three genin at all times in case Orochimaru made another appearance.

That said, they wouldn't help if a rival team or predator showed up. Tiger made it perfectly clear that one of them could be dying of poison with their legs chopped off and their throat bleeding out, and their ANBU watchers still wouldn't lift a finger to help. Team Seven was still taking the exam, and letting a fully-trained ANBU provide aid would give them a ridiculously unfair advantage.

They had graciously provided the team enough water to last the night though. Hunting food would be easy enough given the large variety of lethal fauna aiming to turn them into dinner, but apparently they decided that expecting a trio of rookies to go looking for water after encountering a Sannin would be unreasonable. Something about how proper hydration would potentially help their mental states recover faster.

Exhaling through his nose, Sasuke let his eyes return to their normal state and glanced at his teammates. Naruto put on a tough face like usual, but he could recognize the strong glimmer of anxiety in his eyes as they continually flitted to the forest, as if searching for dangerous. Sakura had regained a bit of color compared to when she'd first thrown up but still looked shaken by the encounter, not that he could blame her.

She'd filled him in on her knowledge of Orochimaru's abilities and history, and he felt sickened by what she described. He _definitely_ existed far beyond their league, and even though she described some pretty horrific crimes, he had a distinct feeling she omitted a _lot_ of details.

Orochimaru's last remark made it clear his interest lay in Sasuke, a thought which made the Uchiha feel sick to his stomach. It didn't take a genius to figure out he most likely wanted Sasuke's eyes rather than Sasuke himself. He felt grateful Sakura broke their vow and used the seal on her coin purse to send a distress signal, because if the ANBU had been even a _second_ later in figuring out their location—

He shuddered, not even wanting to imagine what could have happened.

Instead he quietly sighed, the soft sound instantly grabbing the attention of his still-edgy teammates. "We need to figure out watch shifts," he declare in a low voice, careful not to speak too loudly. His teammates nodded slowly, their grim and anxious expressions morphing into more determined looks.

"I'll take first watch," all three said at once, and then blinked in surprise. Some might call the simultaneous offers a show of strong care for each other, but Sasuke knew better. None of them wanted to risk being asleep if Orochimaru attacked.

After a long while of silence Sakura sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "This is so stupid," she grumbled under her breath. "We have a full ANBU squadron watching us, they'll move right away if he shows his slimy face for even a _second_. We should just trust them and focus on the exam."

"Right," Naruto muttered, nodding uneasily. Pausing, he looked between her and Sasuke before deciding, "Then I guess I'll take first watch. Sakura-chan, you still look kinda sick, and you look really pale too teme."

"I'm naturally pale," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Yeah, but I mean, paler than usual." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"He's got a point," Sakura sighed, slumping against the wall. "You got strangled, Sasuke. And my stomach's _still_ a bit off from vomiting back there." Folding her arms over her chest, she closed her eyes and hummed in thought. "Sasuke-kun, your Sharingan lets you see in the dark better, doesn't it?" When he grunted in affirmation, she reasoned, "Then you should take the middle shift, since it's the darkest. I'll take the last one since it's closest to dawn and it will be gradually getting lighter. Is that okay?"

Sasuke frowned, not pleased at the prospect of having his sleep interrupted by the middle shift. With his current adrenaline rush it would take a while to fall asleep, and waking up for the second shift would only make it harder to fall asleep _again_. Then a sudden thought struck him. "Wait, why don't we have the dobe's clones set up a perimeter and take shifts instead?"

Sakura opened her eyes to stare at him blankly, her gaze unreadable in the darkness. "...I did not think of that," she admitted slowly, and the boys realized she must be even more out of it than they first thought.

Shooting her a sympathetic look, Naruto raised his hand into the seal and created several clones, which promptly transformed into various creatures they'd seen during their brief stay in the Forest of Death. The disguised clones immediately set out to establish a perimeter, and he reclined against the inner wall of the tree with a tired grin. "There, now if any of them see anything suspicious, they'll pop and let me know right away. So you guys just both sit back and get some sleep, okay? Just leave security to me!"

He flashed them a grin Sasuke supposed was meant to be reassuring, but he still couldn't shed the overwhelming unease the earlier battle had incurred. Still, he curled up on the floor of the hollow and after a moment's thought huddled against Sakura, making her tense. "S-S-Sasuke-k-k-kun?" she stuttered, and he frowned in mild irritation as he wondered if her worse fangirl tendencies would resurface. They had never really vanished completely, but they had definitely improved over the years to a tolerable level.

"None of us have blankets, and we can't build a fire because it would make our location too visible to enemies," he told her flatly. "So unless you have any better ideas to stay warm, our best option is to lie down next to each other and share body warmth." He heard a strange squeaking sound, and decided to pretend it came from a squirrel rather than his teammate having a potential relapse. Glancing to Naruto, he ordered, "Wake us up the second something happens."

"Got it," the blond replied, nodding at him earnestly. He felt Sakura shift next to him, sitting up a bit to meet their teammate's eyes.

"Naruto," she began but paused, seeming to search for words. Their gazes held for a few moments before her eyes briefly flitted to Sasuke before returning to Naruto, and when she did comprehension dawned on his face and he nodded.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," he told her, flashing a bright grin. "I get it." Relief seemed to flash on her face, and she laid back down with a sigh, curling into a ball next to Sasuke. Exhaustion quickly took hold of them and sleep soon claimed them, Sasuke's consciousness fading into a dreamless void.

Later, when he awoke to early morning sunlight filtering into the hollow and Sakura quietly preparing breakfast consisting of safe plants, he'd realize that they never did wake him up for his shift.

* * *

Blood and sand mingled on the forest ground, flies buzzing around the gory remains of the hours-old corpse. Glazed eyes stared at the sky lifelessly behind cracked sunglasses, face twisted in a permanent grimace of horror. A soft sigh escaped the silver-haired man towering above the body, his lips pursed into a disapproving frown.

"I leave for a few hours, and this happens?" Kabuto sighed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. His eyes slid to his remaining teammate and Tsurugi Misumi stiffened minutely under his sharp gaze, his jaw clenching beneath the cloth covering his face. Though he and Kabuto officially ranked as genin in Konoha's eyes, within the ranks of their _true_ allegiance Kabuto _far_ outranked him, serving as Orochimaru's right-hand man.

Sweat beaded on Misumi's face as he swallowed, fully aware that the apparently gentle and pacifistic medic could easily destroy his body beyond usability with a few touches if angered enough. "I don't know. We had to split up briefly due to a pack of tigers attacking us." Kabuto hummed at the explanation, turning back to the body of Akado Yoroi. Based on the state of his corpse, he probably ran into Suna's jinchuuriki.

Quite foolish, really. Kabuto had specifically warned his so-called "teammates" not to approach Gaara, knowing full well the boy had fully earned his highly dangerous reputation. Neither of them could possibly hope to survive a hostile encounter with the unstable jinchuuriki, but it would make sense that the ever-brash and over-confident Yoroi would assume his chakra absorption abilities would give him an edge over Gaara anyway.

Frankly, Yoroi should count himself lucky he perished. Had he somehow survived, Lord Orochimaru would make his life hell for his failure. Oh well, no point in dwelling on the past. "It appears we won't be able to proceed to the next phase," he declared to Misumi, his lips curling into a humorless smile as he pulled out their scroll. "I suppose we should see to it that we follow through Plan B, then. After all, _someone_ needs to make it to the next round."

He turned on his heel and calmly strode away, Misumi casting one last glance at their fallen comrade before following in grim silence.

* * *

 _"Aunt Ryoko,_ help _!"_

 _The ten-year-old boy screamed as a large gray cat chased him, the boy narrowly avoiding a swipe of his claws with a horrified whine. Jiraiya just watched the chase with a bemused smile as he sat at the low table with a scroll, secretly pleased to_ not _be on the receiving end of the feline's wrath for once. The boy yelled again as he dodged another strike, releasing a strained whine as the claws glinted in the light._

 _"Masahige, Shisui, that's enough!"_

 _The pair instantly halted as Ryoko suddenly thundered into the room, her hair frazzled and loose from its braid and her apron covered in splattered food. Shisui dove behind her and clutched her skirt, peering around her leg at the feline with a fearful whimper._

 _"Aunt Ryoko, save me!" he cried, whimpering as the cat shot him a cold glare. Ryoko just sighed, shaking her head._

 _"I swear, I feel like the only adult sometimes," she grumbled, and Masahige snorted and rolled his eyes._

 _"You_ are _an adult, Ryoko. You should act like it sometimes."_

 _"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm gonna agree with the cat on this one," Jiraiya grumbled, ignoring the disdainful look the ninneko shot him. "You're a mother now, you're the only adult most of the time. You can't act childish_ all _the time."_

 _"So says the man who still peeps on women like a child in the throes of puberty," Masahige murmured disdainfully, and Jiraiya shot him a cold look._

 _"Hey! I'll have you know that there is nothing wrong with pervertedness!"_

 _"It_ is _one of Jiraiya-sensei's funniest traits," Ryoko mused, and Shisui offered her a deadpan look._

 _"You are a terrible role model. I feel bad for your kids."_

 _"Says the boy who spends every free day at my house." She ruffled his hair with a cheeky smirk, and Shisui batted away her hand with quickly reddening cheeks._

 _"O-only because you're the only adult who makes cookies!"_

 _"Speaking of cookies..." Her gaze slid to the door and Shisui suddenly froze, his eyes widening. In a flash he disappeared from the room, at which point Ryoko turned to her feline summon. "Hige-chan, be a dear and watch him, hmm?"_

 _"I am a_ warrior _, not a babysitter," the cat grumbled, but dutifully trotted after the boy anyway. Ryoko quietly slid the door shut behind him before turning around with a large sigh._

 _"That kid sure likes you, doesn't he?" Jiraiya commented, and Ryoko smiled._

 _"Of course he does. Shisui-chan has been coming over since before the twins were born. I'm pretty much the closest thing he has to a therapist."_

 _"Therapist? The hell does a kid like that need a therapist for? He's what, eight?"_

 _"Ten," Ryoko corrected, collapsing on the cushion at the table across from Jiraiya. Grabbing the scroll before he could stop her, she skimmed its contents with a thoughtful hum. "Ooh, is this a code? I wonder who it's from."_

 _"That," Jiraiya growled, snatching the scroll back, "is none of your business. Which reminds me, you still haven't given me a good explanation for why you sent those damned cats to find me."_

 _"Didn't they tell you?" she asked, inclining her head inquisitively. "I want you to teach my children a jutsu."_

 _"Yeah, they told me. I just don't get_ why _. Can't you do it?"_

 _"Well, yeah, but it's not the same," she sighed. "You're a_ Sannin _. I'm just some retired old biddie who had a breakdown."_

 _"...You're an A-rank threat known internationally as the Bloody Sunburst with a fifty million ryo bounty," Jiraiya deadpanned._

 _"Plenty of people reach that point."_

 _"You're an Uchiha-born fuinjutsu master whose abilities are on par with me, and almost reverse-engineered the Hiraishin."_

 _"Minato beat me to it though."_

 _"You single-handedly turned the tides in the Battle of Getsugawa and saved the lives of dozens of our own forces."_

 _"That wasn't a major battle. Kannabi Bridge had a way bigger impact."_

 _Jiraiya could feel his eye twitching in irritation. "...You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" he asked through gritted teeth, and she smiled at him serenely._

 _"Nope. If you're going to teach Minato's son, then surely you can teach my kids a thing or two too. It's only fair, sensei."_

 _"Only fai—Minato's dead!" Jiraiya stared at her in disbelief, and Ryoko paused, her smile fading._

 _"...He is, isn't he," she murmured, and he found himself pausing because she had that wistful look on her face, that distant gaze haunted by some sort of knowledge he couldn't possibly understand. Watching her silently, after a few moments Jiraiya huffed a large sigh and squeezed his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose._

 _"...Alright, fine," he muttered. "I'll teach them something. Maybe I can tutor them in fuinjutsu or something..."_

 _"No, I have a better idea," Ryoko responded, cupping her hands around his cheeks, and his eyelids fluttered open in surprise just in time to see her eyes turn red._

In the present Jiraiya sighed as he sat atop the Hokage monument, perched on one of the spikes of Minato's hair. Warm lights glowed in the windows of the village below him as the night grew darker, the streets nearly empty save as the majority of the residents retreated indoors to sleep. Watching Konoha at twilight never particularly appealed to him like some of his comrades, preferring the spectacular sights available in more exotic vistas, but he could still appreciate the aesthetics of the view. It created a homey and comfortable atmosphere, with just a slightly somber note due to late hour. A relaxed atmosphere perfect for reflecting on the past.

What started as a simple day had evolved into something so much more hectic. First, he got caught up in training Masaru after unexpectedly running into him at Ryoko's grave, and spent a good chunk of the day supervising the young Uchiha's attempts at the fireball well into the afternoon. Then on his way to do some pre-dinner research to work up his appetite, he got intercepted by an ANBU with immediate summons to the Hokage's office. And upon being dragged there against his will, he learned that his old teammate had been sighted going after the _other_ Uchiha.

All in all, it looked like Jiraiya had come back to Konoha just in time for one _hell_ of a show. No way Sarutobi-sensei would let him just laze around with the ever-looming threat before them, the old man was probably planning Jiraiya's schedule for the next month right now.

"What a day," he muttered, the corners of his mouth lifting into a rueful smirk. "Feels like just yesterday I was visiting Ryoko's place watching you chase around that poor brat." He turned his head slightly to look at the feline sitting on one of the stones behind him, his ash-colored fur giving the heavily scarred cat an almost ghostly appearance as his single golden eye gleamed in what little light penetrated the night.

"You'll have to be more specific than just _poor brat_ ," Masahige replied dryly, and the sage released a humorless chuckle as he turned to face the village again.

"So, is there a reason you're still in Konoha?" ' _Any more final orders Ryoko neglected to inform us about?_ ' lingered beneath the surface of his inquiry, too experienced to voice such questions so bluntly.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. In any event, it is none of your business." Jiraiya snorted and rolled his eyes, expecting no less from the cantankerous feline who served as the leader of Ryoko's personal summons. They never had gotten along, not from the first time Ryoko had summoned the cat during a team meeting. In fact, he often suspected she ordered him to assault Jiraiya's face every time, just for comedy value.

The thought of those peaceful days sobered him, his face growing solemn as he surveyed his home village. Once upon a time, Jiraiya had a total of six people who claimed him as their teacher. Over the years the number had steadily whittled down though, starting with kind but short-tempered and rash Yuichi after his first brush with war ended with him succumbing to a fast-acting poison before they could get help, and eventually ending with Ryoko's gory demise at the hands of her own clansman barely six years ago.

Now all that remained of those halcyon days were two fragile boys who inherited unspeakably heavy burdens from their deceased parents. Sometimes Jiraiya wondered what that said about him, that his students—all six, when most people only had three at most—had all died so young. Had he been superstitious like Tsunade he'd probably assume he had some kind of curse attached to him, forced to watch every student perish while he'd somehow survive to die of old age.

As if reading his mind Masahige huffed and grumbled lowly, "You better not be blaming yourself for all of their deaths. Ryoko gave me strict orders to scratch your face if you ever started moping about her and everyone else's decisions, and I'd rather not have to stalk you around Konoha to keep in compliance with that order."

The abruptness of the complaint and its content brought forth a bubbling laugh from Jiraiya, his gloomy thoughts disappearing as he slapped his knee with a mirthful chuckle. "Well, I don't want that either," he teased, grinning at the glaring feline. "I have _enough_ cranky old men in my life right now. I'd much rather have some pretty young ladies stalking me for a change."

The cat growled in annoyance and leaped off the rock, disappearing into the darkness below the monument. Jiraiya reclined against the stone with a faint smile, tipping his head to look up at the glittering night sky.

This upcoming month still gave him an ominous foreboding feeling, but for tonight he'd let himself relax, just a little.

* * *

 **Omake: Back With Masaru**

On day three of the Chuunin Exams, Kakashi suddenly appeared in the window and declared, "Good news, Team Seven made it safely to the tower!"

Masaru yelled and nearly toppled over in shock at the jounin's sudden entrance, dropping the basket he'd been carrying to the laundry room. Watching the dirty clothes spill onto the floor, Kakashi couldn't help but comment, "Maa, you need to work on your reflexes."

"Y-you—what are you doing here!?" Masaru sputtered, whirling to stare at Kakashi wide-eyed. "What does that even mean!?" Kakashi stared at him for a moment from his perch on the windowsill, blinking owlishly.

"Oh right. You don't know what the second phase actually is." Shrugging, he slid off the windowsill to stand on the floor, hands casually shoved into his pockets. "Well, the specifics don't really matter, you just need to know that Team Seven passed. Whose boxers are those and how did it get that big purple stain?"

His attention zeroed in on a pair of boxers patterned with neon-colored cat heads and a large stain on the side, and Masaru snatched it up with flaming cheeks. "Yours, then," Kakashi surmised, and dodged a kunai which immediately lodged into the wall behind him. Eying the damage, he couldn't help but remark, "That may affect your deposit."

"How does Sasuke put up with you," Masaru groaned, gathering the fallen laundry.

"You still haven't explained the stain."

"Naruto left a paint bomb for Sasuke and it got me instead."

"Ah, of course." Kakashi nodded sagely as if that explained everything, and Masaru dumped the fallen clothes into the basket and hefted it up.

"Thanks for telling me they passed, I guess? I kinda need to go do laundry now, though, so..."

"Right, I understand." Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile, and he closed the window and locked it. "The laundry room's on the second floor, right? Let's walk together."

Masaru just decided not to question why he knew that since as far as he knew most apartment buildings kept it in their basements or the first floor. "Why?" he asked instead.

"Why not?" Kakashi responded blithely. Masaru just stared at him silently, not moving for the door. The jounin clearly had a bigger motive for visiting than just tell him Sasuke passed the second phase, otherwise he wouldn't have followed him here. Whatever it was he seemed uncomfortable about bringing it up.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, Masaru had mastered the art of enduring long silences, both awkward and tense. Between Sasuke's broody mood swings and his own naturally social ineptitude, he had plenty of experience with these kinds of silences and had grown mostly desensitized to them. If Kakashi wanted the silence to end, he'd have to break it himself.

After about five minutes the jounin sighed. "You know, given how much you seem to struggle with most social interactions, I expected you to crack sooner," he commented, and Masaru flashed him a smug smirk.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he taunted. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I guess I really just want to make sure you're holding up alright," Kakashi said with a lazy shrug. His answer still didn't satisfy Masaru, and he looked at him for about five more seconds before it clicked.

"You miss having Sasuke and Naruto and Sakura around so you're using me as a substitute," he declared blandly, and he felt a bit of smug satisfaction at the flicker of surprise in Kakashi's eye. Then the man's expression returned to normal and he shrugged.

"Close enough." Before Masaru could question what that meant Kakashi had swiped the basket from him. "Let's go get this laundry done, okay?" Without giving Masaru a chance to answer he swept out of the apartment, leaving the boy to watch him in confusion.

* * *

 **This chapter was a doozy! Between the battle, checking in with Kabuto, the flashback from Jiraiya and the omake, this chapter clocked in at over 7,000 words! I'll make this note short.**

This chapter ends with some information about a very important aspect: Ryoko was one of Jiraiya's genin. This has been planned for a while and I've been hinting at it since her conversation with Minato in Kakashi's dream, but honestly I'm still a bit nervous about it. I don't want ANY of my characters to seem like Mary Sues, and while it's only backstory, this still really ventures towards dangerous cliche territory in my opinion. I hope you guys approve!

On that note, I'll say one more thing: **When this story reaches 100 reviews on Fanfiction or 50 bookmarks on AO3, I'll post an omake about their bell test.** I figure I might as well do something to celebrate reaching milestones. Of course, I'll come up with another idea for when I reach the goals on the other site. Maybe I'll let you guys give some input on what to do?


	30. Chapter 29: Brick-Induced Ripples

Chapter 29

* * *

 _"Sometimes the smallest ripples can lead to the largest changes. That begs the question, 'what happens if I throw in a brick?' I'm scared to test it because it will either be good, neutral, or somehow end the world."_

* * *

Twelve genin stood in the center of the tower's arena, their bodies and faces marred with bruises and cuts. Vibrant red blood still smeared across the cracked tiles of the floor behind them, the walls scarred with gashes from their kunai and shuriken. Yet despite the battle-weary looks they wore, they stood with their shoulders held high as they faced the Third Hokage, their eyes sparkling with fierce determination.

The elderly shinobi veteran's lips quirked into a faint smile as he surveyed the long row of youths facing him, their clothes and natural coloring producing a subdued rainbow. Five different symbols adorned their hitai-ate, the gleaming silver plates creating another sort of rainbow. Rarely did so many different villages have genin make it to the final round in a single exam, and Hiruzen's heart swelled with pride as he noted the ever-familiar leaf insignia adorning half of their bands.

"Everyone who stands before me today has proven themselves," he declared in a booming voice. "Though this is only the preliminary rounds, you have demonstrated great talent and skill to reach this point and have all earned the right to compete in the tournament at the end of this month. There you shall have the honor of representing your villages, and your performance shall determine whether or not you will earn the right to receive the title of chuunin.

"However, regardless of your performance then, remember this. You have survived numerous trials to reach this point, and several of you have demonstrated an incredible ingenuity today alone. You are the future of your villages, and after what I have seen today, I am certain your villages will shine bright with shinobi like you at their helms."

Having finished his congratulatory speech Hiruzen turned and departed the arena, his footsteps echoing loudly in the ensuing silence. As soon as the door closed behind him he heaved a large sigh, his weathered features growing drawn and tired. He began walking down the hall at a brisk pace, not bothering to slow or turn around when he sensed one of his ANBU agents appear behind him. "Report," he ordered briskly.

"No signs of Orochimaru have been found. However, we have found evidence of a spy near the Uchiha's apartment." The news made his lips press into a grim line.

"What sort of evidence?"

"A corpse, sir." Hiruzen stopped mid-step, turning to level a sharp look at the man.

"A corpse?" he echoed lowly, and the man nodded once.

"Yes. The face was mauled beyond recognition, so preliminary DNA tests are currently being run on the remains to see if we have any information on the man's identity. However, we found something very interesting with his remains." As he spoke he produced a folder from the folds of his cloak, and Hiruzen snatched it and flipped it open to study its contents with sharp eyes.

Immediately he understood why the ANBU called the discovery "interesting," as the top photo showed the two Uchiha boys walking down the street from afar. Normally spies wouldn't carry such blatant evidence on their persons, and Hiruzen counted his lucky stars that this one had been an exception as he studied the picture. A red pen had been used to circle Sasuke, but what really caught his attention was the red "x" over Masaru's right ear.

Few people knew of Masaru's partial deafness, and the placement of the "x" seemed too precise to be mere coincidence. On its own he'd say it had been meant as a reminder of his weakness. Combined with the fact they'd circled Sasuke, however, Hiruzen swiftly concluded the photo had been marked as a reminder to the agent to _prioritize_ Sasuke over Masaru.

Targeting even one Uchiha caused plenty of reason for alarm on its own, but to potentially single out one over the other due to a little-known physical disability? That indicated that whoever the spy worked for had an interest in the boys extending beyond merely attaining the Sharingan, and that did not sit well with Hiruzen at all. That didn't even take into account the fact he had to figure out where the photo's owner learned about Masaru's deafness.

Frowning as he mulled over the implications, Hiruzen flipped to the next photo, which showed the spy's remains. Just as the ANBU said, the face had been brutally mauled, deep gashes rendering it little more than ripped muscles. A less seasoned shinobi would probably vomit at the brutality of it, but Hiruzen had seen far worse and spared it little more than a glance before studying the series of small paw prints burnt into the man's chest.

Despite the severity of the situation his mouth curled into a small smirk, a morbid chuckle escaping him. It appeared that Ryoko's ninneko summons still played a more active role in her son's life than he'd realized. He pitied anyone who would try to harm Masaru under their watch, they could be quite savage.

Still, Hiruzen couldn't leave the Uchiha boys' safety in the hands (or paws) of ninneko alone. He had no doubt the spy worked for Orochimaru, and his former student would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

"Summon Tiger and Kakashi to my office at their soonest convenience," he ordered, and the ANBU nodded before flickering away, leaving Hiruzen to resume his walk to the tower in contemplative silence. _What exactly are you planning, Orochimaru?_

* * *

After a long day of training, Masaru sat on the couch with a book on chakra control theories when the door to the apartment suddenly banged open and Sasuke stumbled inside. His clothes looked a bit ragged and he had a few scratches, but overall he seemed fine and radiated an air of subtle satisfaction. Bolting upright in surprise, Masaru closed the book and greeted eagerly, "You passed the second phase?"

His cousin just smirked.

In all, Konoha had six genin pass the preliminaries. Aside from Sasuke himself, Naruto also passed, as did Neji, Shino, Shikamaru and—somewhat surprisingly—Hinata. Meanwhile, all three Sand Siblings passed, while Oto, Taki and Ame each passed one genin. It made for a grand total of twelve genin proceeding to the finals, which would make for a good show for the foreign dignitaries.

With some prodding, Sasuke filled him in on a few of the matches as they sat at the table. Of course, being Sasuke he didn't go into much detail, but he gave Masaru the key details of the ones he found most relevant. "I beat Ino," he said with a shrug. "She went down pretty easy, our fighting styles didn't mesh at all so she couldn't counter me that well."

"What about Naruto?" Masaru asked, naturally curious about his good friend. Sasuke scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"The dobe got paired with some dumb pervert from Taki who kept ogling the girls."

(Earlier...)

 _Raising his hand in a single sign, a puff of smoke consumed Naruto and his three shadow clones. Upon clearing three nude pigtailed girls stood facing their opponent in an assortment of flirty poses, swirls of smoke providing just enough coverage to keep a PG rating while still inciting angry parents over the sheer amount of skin visible. Not that Naruto's opponent would complain._

 _"Natsuuu-kuuuun," they chorused, giggling and blowing kisses at the Waterfall genin. He stared at them dumbly, his eyes bulging as he took in their nude forms._

 _Then the real Naruto popped up behind him and whacked him over the head with a harsh karate chop, sending him collapsing to the ground._

 _Five seconds passed in total silence, Naruto and the three Narukos staring at the fallen genin expectantly._

 _Hayate coughed, and raised his hand. "Match, Uzumaki Naruto."_

 _Five more seconds passed._

 _Then Naruto recoiled in shock. "WHAT THE HELL!?"_

(Back in the present...)

"He actually argued with the proctor for about five minutes about getting a do-over," Sasuke deadpanned. "The guy's own teammates were pretty split on whether he deserved another chance."

"Only Naruto," Masaru groaned, shaking his head in a strange mixture of shame and awe. He knew from Sasuke's anecdotes that Naruto had gotten much stronger over the course of their training, but his prankster roots still held strong in his fighting style. And of course it would irritate him that he won through such a weak trick, hard to brag about beating someone through the power of sexy transformations.

Pushing the thought away, Masaru mentally reviewed the list of genin who passed and frowned as he noted one significant absence. "What about Sakura?" Sasuke's face darkened a bit, and he looked away with a sigh.

"...She lost to that Sand kunoichi," he confided lowly. "She almost won, but the girl blew back one of her poisoned shuriken with a wind jutsu and it ended up hitting her arm. When she went to grab an antidote Temari knocked it out of her hand, so she ended up having to forfeit to get treated. She's not too happy."

"I bet," Masaru mumbled, frowning as he leaned back. Out of the three members of Team Seven, Sakura had definitely been working the hardest. She lacked Naruto's immense chakra reserves and Sasuke's natural talent, having to depend on hard work and her sharp mind to keep up. To stay behind while her two teammates passed would undoubtedly crush her. "Poor Sakura..."

Sasuke grunted, and Masaru sighed. Another face flashed through his mind at this point, making him perk up. "Oh yeah, did you ever see Kabuto?"

The name made Sasuke tense ever so slightly, a cold look flashing through his face for a split second before fading. Anyone else would have likely missed it, but after spending nearly five years living together Masaru easily recognized the glimmer of hostility in his cousin's posture, making him frown. Before he could comment on it though Sasuke responded, "I saw him in the first phase, but he didn't pass the second so I don't know what happened to him."

"...Again, huh." Masaru sighed, shaking his head. "I think that makes six now." Poor Kabuto. Masaru liked him, he seemed so nice, but maybe that meant he just wasn't suited for shinobi life. Pacifists simply had no place working in a field which revolved around murder.

"Masaru..." He paused when Sasuke suddenly spoke again. His cousin had a strangely serious look on his face even by the usual Uchiha standards, his eyes seeming to waver with a tinge of uncertainty as he hesitated. "There's one other match you should know about... No, not just that, but two things." Masaru's frown grew, leaning towards him with an intent look silently imploring him to continue.

Inhaling through his nose, Sasuke folded his hands in front of his mouth and leaned forward, his eyes narrowed and intense. "First, I need to tell you about what happened in the Forest of Death. On the first day, we got attacked. A man named Orochimaru infiltrated the exam."

"Orochimaru?" Masaru repeated, the name vaguely familiar.

"Sakura told us about him afterwards. He's one of the Legendary Sannin and an S-rank missing-nin from Konoha. If the ANBU hadn't shown up when they did..." He trailed off and looked away. Red flickered in his onyx eyes briefly but faded before the Sharingan could fully manifest, and his lips pulled into a scowl. "He was after me. I don't know why, but I'm willing to bet it has to do with the Sharingan. And if that's the case..."

Sasuke didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to. Masaru felt his throat tighten, a sudden rush of dread filling him. If Sasuke really _had_ been targeted for the Sharingan, then naturally Masaru would be a target too. Judging by Sasuke's heavily tense posture while speaking about his encounter, he could guess Orochimaru would not be an easy opponent to survive, let alone win.

A few minutes of heavy silence fell at this point, the two stewing in their own thoughts as they each mulled over the implications. Swallowing dryly, Masaru eventually looked at Sasuke and asked, "What's the other thing?" This time Sasuke hesitated even longer, only adding to his apprehension.

"...During the preliminaries, that one genin you warned us about from Suna—Gaara. He got matched up against one of the ninja from Oto, a guy named Dosu." His eyes grew sharper, a ghost of a grimace briefly flickering across his face. "Gaara crushed him with his sand. The match didn't even last two minutes."

Masaru felt his breath hitch, his eyes widening in shock. "His opponent... Is he...?" He trailed off, unable to finish the question.

"He's alive," Sasuke told him, "but his body was almost totally crushed except for his head. The jounin wouldn't tell us anything, but from what we saw I doubt he'll be able to recover enough to even _walk_ normally, let alone return to being a shinobi. That's not the kind of injury people can heal from."

A grim atmosphere descended upon the room, Masaru's chest sharply constricting as he processed this new information. From the moment he first lay eyes on Gaara he'd felt something off about the boy, but for him to be that dangerous... It left him uneasy. His gaze fell to his lap, recalling the cold, empty look in Gaara's pale green eyes as he stared at him.

"When we drew lots for the third round, I got matched against him."

Sasuke's words pierced Masaru like an electrified kunai, his head snapping up to stare at his cousin wide-eyed. "What?" he whispered, the color draining from his skin. Icy chills steadily spread through his body as he thought of Sasuke—his cousin, his _family_ , his _only family in Konoha_ —having to fight against... _that_. A spike of anxiety flooded him, and he almost knocked over the chair as he sprung up to lean over the table. "You—you can withdraw, right? Just... forfeit?"

Sasuke's face immediately darkened, shaking his head firmly. "No. That's not an option. I'm not backing out just because he's more dangerous than other opponents."

"But—"

"Masaru," Sasuke interrupted, "Gaara _wants_ to fight me, and I get the feeling that he won't just leave me alone if I back out. If anything, it'd probably just make him angrier." Masaru immediately opened his mouth to protest but his voice died in his throat. While he wanted to argue, he knew that Sasuke was right; Gaara had that kind of intensity, the kind where if he wanted something from someone, he wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

Frowning, he slowly sank back into his seat, looking at his lap dejectedly. Across from him he heard Sasuke huff a small sigh. "Kakashi's going to give me specialized training, starting tomorrow. He said we'll probably be spending the night in the field to maximize the time so I probably won't see you that much."

He heard Sasuke's chair scrape against the floor, and he raised his head to find his cousin leaning over the table, his eyes intense as he stared at Masaru. "Promise me," he said. "Promise me, right now, you'll be careful this month."

Masaru looked at him in silence, taking his time to process everything. "I will," he finally agreed, "But you need to promise me something too."

"What?"

"Come back for your birthday." His response seemed to catch Sasuke off guard, and he stared at Masaru for about a minute before slowly sinking back into his chair, smirking at him.

"I'll be there," he promised, and Masaru smiled before getting up.

"Come on, let's go," he said, heading for the door, and Sasuke offered him perplexed look as he rose to follow.

"Where are we going?" he asked, and Masaru glanced over his shoulder with a bright grin.

"You and Naruto both passed, right? So you should celebrate together!"

"But where—" Sasuske stopped mid-sentence, realization visibly dawning on his face before grimacing. "Ichiraku's."

"Where else would he be?" Sasuke groaned loudly but offered no resistance as Masaru grabbed his arm and dragged him out the door. If it made him happy, then Sasuke could put up with a bit of ramen. As they exited their apartment building and ran down the street they failed to notice the small swarm of ANBU agents shadowing them from the rooftops, or the dozens of feline eyes glinting from the alleyways.

* * *

"So, you passed the preliminaries. You will have to train hard this month for the finals."

"Yes, father."

Hinata bowed her head deferentially as she murmured her assent, fiddling with the braided bracelet hanging on her right wrist nervously. Her father's pale gaze seemed to bore into her, yet it held no judgment or scorn, or any particular emotion really. It felt as if he were looking at a random person on the street, casually assessing them but not searching for any crucial details. It made her feel invisible, and yet at the same time as if she had all the eyes in the world on her.

She grimaced and pinched the bracelet.

"Take the rest of the day to rest," Hiashi told her. "I shall draw up an appropriate training regiment for you, starting tomorrow. Hoheto should be available this month, he's been put on temporary leave pending a minor medical procedure so I'll place him in charge. I expect you to adhere to his instruction and avoid bringing any shame to our clan."

Swallowing thickly, Hinata murmured, "Understood," and then rose and scurried out of her father's study. Once she'd reached the relative privacy of the hallway and closed the door, she breathed a small sigh and let some of the tenseness in her shoulders slip away. Less than two hours had passed since she returned from the preliminary matches for the third phase, and even so she still had yet to feel any particular elation at passing to the finals.

Passing the second phase, winning her match... It had been a fluke.

Her opponent had entered the arena with one arm in a sling, a slight limp to her step but her eyes full of determination. Though her opponent's obvious handicap had made her briefly hesitate, Hinata threw her full heart into the match, doing her best to make her teacher proud. At the end her fingers brushed her enemy's thigh in an attempt to strike the tenketsu point, but rather than disrupt the other girl's chakra flow, the pulse of chakra instead added the final push to an already highly stressed bone.

Even now Hinata could hear the sickening crack as the girl's femur shattered, her bloodcurdling screams echoing as she curled on the floor in agony. Her strike hit close to the hip, the crack making it impossible for her leg to support her weight. Hinata's heart squeezed with guilt and sympathy for the Ame kunoichi, and even now the hateful gazes of her opponent's teammates as she mounted the steps to rejoin her team flashed through her mind, making her wince and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Please, go away," she whispered, trembling as her hands pressed against her forehead. "I-I d-didn't mean to..."

"Onee-san?" Hinata gave a small start when she heard her sister's voice and turned to see Hanabi standing next to her, her pale eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... I'm fine," Hinata managed, forcing a weak smile onto her face as she lied through her teeth. "I-I'm just... stressed, that's all." Hanabi frowned, tilting her head with a childishly inquisitive glance.

"But... you won your match, didn't you? Isn't that good?"

"I... It is, but..." She trailed off, letting her false smile vanish and looked to her feet with a nervous frown.

 _"You should have just forfeited."_

 _Hinata felt her blood run cold at her cousin's words, turning to look at him with large, fearful eyes. Neji leered at her disdainfully, his pale eyes seeming to penetrate through her even without his Byakugan active. "You won by a fluke and nothing more," he said. "That kunoichi was already injured. Had she been able to fight at her full ability, you would have failed."_

 _Shuddering, Hinata swallowed and averted her gaze, sweat trickling down her face. She knew Neji had a point. That girl had shown so much potential, her eyes held so much more experience, had seen so many more things than Hinata's Byakugan ever had. If not for that "lucky" strike, Hinata surely would have lost._

 _"You are too kind," her cousin continued. "You have no confidence in yourself and you despise conflict. You only entered the exam because it must be taken in a team of three, and you could not deny your teammates' request. You did not expect to make it this far, and even now you feel guilty for hurting your opponent to the extent you did. Am I wrong?"_

 _She didn't respond, she couldn't respond. Her body trembled as she stood motionless, unable to bring herself to continue moving as her heart twisted with guilt and shame. Ahead of her she could see her teammates and teacher watching her worriedly, Kiba taking a step her direction as his mouth opened to speak._

 _"HEY! Shut up you bastard!"_

 _Hinata jumped when she heard an angry yell, and her head snapped upwards in surprise to see Naruto standing right in front of Neji, standing on his toes as he defiantly glared up at the taller boy's face. "Hinata-chan did an awesome job down there! She took that girl down even when she started swinging all those crazy super-long nunchuks around! Stop saying all that bullshit about her being weak!"_

 _Neji just scoffed and turned his head away, not even bothering to deign Naruto with a response. Huffing angrily, the blond spun around to face Hinata, his eyes blazing with fiery resolve. "Hinata-chan, don't you dare listen to that bastard! I don't care if he's a genius or whatever! You're awesome no matter what he says! Got it?"_

Her heart had soared so much to hear him defend her like that, to hear Naruto— _her_ Naruto, her _sunshine_ , her _inspiration_ —tell her that she had done a good job. For so long, Hinata had only heard harsh words of disappointment and scorn from the adults around her. Every day her father's heavy expectations weighed on her shoulders so heavily it felt like she would be crushed under them, and even at the academy she could feel the teachers watching her with high expectations based on her clan alone.

That had been why Naruto's words meant so much to her. Just like her, he grew up with harsh words and criticism, everyone telling him he would be a failure. Yet he never once gave up, he persevered under the unfairly hateful gazes of everyone around them and pushed past every failure even more determined than before. They rarely interacted but even so at some point Naruto had become Hinata's inspiration, his unwavering resolve inspiring her to push harder.

His encouragement—his _acknowledgment_ —gave her strength, filled her with renewed determination. If Naruto could believe in her, then surely she could believe in herself too, right?

Then they drew lots to decide the matches in the tournament, and that dreamlike happiness shattered.

She still remembered the icy chill when Naruto cheerily called out "Five" while she stared at her own slip of paper, the character for "Six" never feeling so ominous. Of all the people to fight, why, _why_ did it have to be him? Her chest felt tight just thinking of it. Hinata couldn't use his words as motivation to fight _him_ , she couldn't bring herself to think of possibly impeding his dream—

"Hinata-nee-san!" Hanabi called, and Hinata gave another small start, squeaking in surprise. Hanabi frowned and tugged her sleeve, trying to get her to follow. "Come on, you're spacing out. Let's go into town and get some cinnamon buns from that one bakery, okay?"

"R-right..." Hinata slowly nodded, offering her a shaky smile. Inside she felt even _worse_ that her younger sister had to try to comfort her though, the sweet promise of cinnamon buns slightly soured by the realization Hanabi knew they would help lift her mood for even a few seconds. As the older sister Hinata should be the one caring for Hanabi, yet somehow the roles had been reversed. But then, hadn't they always been reversed?

Hinata always was a failure after all. Hanabi never had any of the troubles she faced, she should have been the heir.

Trailing behind the five-years-younger prodigy in gloomy silence, the older girl's gaze flitted to the braided bracelet dangling on her wrist one more time, her finger tracing the thick strands of red braided among white and lavender.

 _I wish... I wish it happened to me instead of you..._

* * *

Deep in Ame rain poured from the gloomy skies as it always did, but it did not prevent its residents from milling about the city and going about their business. A group of children ran down the street chasing each other, adults yelling in annoyance as they splashed through large puddles and their laughter drowned out by the steady pitter patter of raindrops. A lone figure watched them from the second floor of a small cafe, a black and red cloak draped over the back of his chair and a cup of tea warming his hands.

Light footsteps approached and he turned his head to see a woman walking his way, gliding across the empty room with a grace that made her almost appear to fly. Slipping into the seat across from him, she elegantly folded her hands atop the table and looked at him with blank amber eyes. "Thank you for meeting me, Itachi-kun," she told him. "I hope the tea here is to your liking."

The Uchiha clan killer merely nodded in reply, turning in his seat to face her more fully. "Konan-sama," he greeted coolly, his own face equally aloof. "It is rare to be summoned for a direct meeting, especially individually."

"It is rare for a situation like the present to arise." As she spoke she slipped a piece of folded paper from her sleeve and extended it to him. Eyes narrowing warily, he gingerly took the note and unfolded it, skimming its contents. When he finished he folded it again and handed it back to her, lifting his teacup once more.

"So a genin from Ame has passed to the final stages of the Chuunin Exams. Congratulations."

"Thank you. However, while it is certainly an honor, this means that we must send a representative to Konoha. Currently, no one knows we defeated and replaced Hanzou, and we would prefer to keep it that way."

"Can you not simply send one of your jounin and claim him as a representative in his place?" Itachi reasoned calmly. "As far as I am aware, the old leader had a reputation for being quite standoffish and paranoid. It would be well within his character to send a proxy."

"We could," Konan allowed, "but we would rather use this opportunity to personally gather information." Itachi sipped from his tea quietly as she spoke before setting his cup down, his eyes closing.

"You wish for me to provide assistance because I am a native and know the village," he murmured, and Konan allowed a small smile to slip through.

"Correct. I will be attending as Ame's representative in order to gather information. I will not demand you join me due to the risk, but I believe we would benefit from your presence. Sasori's spy rings have given confirmation that Orochimaru has shown a particularly strong interest in the exams this year, and this may provide an opportunity to eliminate him."

Konan's smile had already vanished by the time Itachi's eyes slid open, her face back to the same aloof mask she always wore. The Uchiha regarded her coolly for a long moment but eventually he sighed, inclining his head in affirmation.

"Very well. I trust you will make appropriate arrangements for disguises. A mere transformation shall hardly suffice for a long-term infiltration mission, and as you are aware, my face is quite well known there."

"Of course," Konan replied smoothly, not missing a beat. "I have already created a few ideas for you to use, and you may browse the stores here for whatever components you need. We shall arrive in Konoha one week before the tournament."

Itachi merely nodded in reply and resumed sipping his tea, only the sound of rain gently pelting the roof filling the silence.


	31. Chapter 30: One Long Month

Chapter 30

* * *

 _"Ten years from now, a month will seem like a pretty short amount of time. In fifty years, it will seem even shorter. If you somehow become immortal and/or live for thousands of years, you'll probably be mixing up decades when looking back on your life._

 _That doesn't change the fact a month still feels like forever in the present."_

* * *

The next morning Gaku-sensei finally resurfaced, appearing at the apartment just after Sasuke left. He looked a bit more tired than usual, bags hanging under his eyes signaling a lack of sleep the past few days, but he still smiled at Masaru when he answered the door.

The two exchanged greetings and Masaru quickly brought him up to speed on his newest training developments in regards to Foxfire. Gaku couldn't fill him in on his own activities, since that went against ANBU code and all. Eventually though, they got down to business.

"So Masaru..." Gaku smiled, and suddenly Masaru felt a small pang of concern. "As you know, the third phase of the Chuunin Exams is a big tournament, right?"

"...Yes?" That small pang of concern had started to evolve into a bit of dread.

"And that naturally draws in a large crowd, including a lot of foreign dignitaries."

"...Y-yeah..." That bit of dread started to snowball into full-fledged foreboding.

"Well, obviously most foreigners won't know the way to Konoha, so someone has to guide them here."

And at that point Masaru felt a sudden urge to run and hide for reasons he couldn't understand.

Two weeks later, he decided it must have been a premonition.

"Are we almost there?" he groaned, trailing after Gaku, Izumo and Aoba with a slight frown.

"The meeting point's just up ahead," Gaku told him, offering him a sheepish smile. "I know you're probably getting a bit tired. After this one, I'll ask the Hokage for a break."

"Please let him agree," Masaru mumbled, clasping his hands together as if praying. Over the past two weeks he felt like he'd spent more time out of the village than inside, constantly being sent out as part of a welcome party for various visiting dignitaries. The Hokage had decided to have him continue testing the waters with the diplomatic field, and while he appreciated the chance to leave Konoha, the constant meet-and-greet with various foreign nobles had slowly started to grate on his nerves.

Ahead of them Aoba snorted and rolled his eyes. "At least we don't have to escort a bunch of snotty nobles this time," he commented. "Those are the worst."

"...Please don't mention that," Masaru groaned, hanging his head. Izumo smiled at him consolingly and patted his arm.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't have any more princesses trying to seduce you this time," he teased, and Masaru shot him a sour look. Two missions happened to involve some high-ranking aristocratic girl who grew enamored with Masaru, much to his discomfort. As far as he could tell, their attraction stemmed less from Masaru himself and more the mystique of his shinobi status, since apparently ninja were quite rare outside hidden villages.

Of course, he had no idea how to respond to clients flirting with him (oh kami he might cause an _international incident_ what if they _declare war_ crapcrap _crap_ ) and could only smile and nod while trying not to panic. Apparently they found his awkward fumbling "adorable" though, which made it _worse_.

At least his distress entertained his companions though.

...Yeah, no, he might be starting to hate the chuunin and tokujo he'd worked with. At least this time Kotetsu wasn't there, he might be the worst of them all.

Sighing, Masaru pulled away from Izumo and did his best to ignore the quiet snicker from the chuunin, instead thinking about the mission at hand. This time, they would be escorting the leader from Taki and a small entourage of guards, which should make for a short and simple mission. There wouldn't be any ignorant nobles to guide around, and only the stupidest of bandits would try to attack a group exclusively composed of trained shinobi.

Yet that's exactly the scene they stumbled upon.

To be fair, instead of a group the bandits chose to target a lone girl who happened to be napping against a tree. Easy mistake, but she also had a hitai-ate on her arm _clearly_ bearing the symbol for Taki.

The quartet of Leaf ninja just watched blankly from a cluster of trees as the horde of five bandits crept towards the napping girl, preparing to pounce. Gaku tapped Masaru's shoulder to get his attention. "Masaru, want to take lead and get some actual combat experience?" he whispered, and Masaru blinked at him before shrugging.

Ultimately, taking the bandits down proved surprisingly easy. One of them swung a sickle on a chain at him, but he had no proper control over it and Masaru easily sidestepped it, letting it pierce another bandit conveniently standing behind him. Another one tried to club him over the head but he just ducked under it while simultaneously lashing out with a kick, sending him flying into _another_ guy.

Then he spun and delivered a flying kick to the final guy's torso, sending him crashing to the ground. He groaned and started to get up, but Masaru elbowed the back of his head, successfully knocking him out. As he stood panting over the unconscious man, he suddenly noticed a shadow towering over him and spun around to see the one who'd been hit by the one with the club standing behind him, a wild look in his eye as he raised a large combat knife over his head.

However, before he could thrust it downwards a wooden pillar suddenly spit out of the ground, hitting him right in the chin.

Masaru just watched in shock as the man fell back, his shoulders drooping in mild bewilderment. Izumo gave a low whistle of appreciation as he and the others stepped out of the trees. "Not bad, kid. You've got a good mind for fighting." Masaru didn't respond right away, still staring at the fallen man and the wooden column still protruding from the ground.

"Um... how did...?" He trailed off, shooting the others heavily confused looks.

"Ah, d-don't worry about it," Aoba said quickly, waving his hands in a placating manner as he moved to restrain the bandits.

"But... isn't that... Mokuton? Wood element?" At this point he started looking around the clearing warily, half-expecting Senju Hashirama's ghost would suddenly jump out of the trees with a boisterous laugh or something. His mom always said that great ninja had workarounds for death...

Aoba started sweating furiously, giving a small, nervous nap. "Um... no?" Izumo edged a bit closer to Gaku and partially blocked him from Masaru's line of sight while the older man ran through some hand seals. Masaru jumped when the wooden pillar suddenly retracted into the earth, his confusion only growing.

Before he could question it further Izumo quickly spoke up, dashing his thoughts. "Is that girl really still asleep?" he asked incredulously, and the other three paused before turning to look. Sure enough, the girl remained curled up on the ground, having even rolled over at some point during the fray to quietly snore on her side. The four shinobi just stared at her in various states of disbelief, not sure what to make of it.

"FU!"

Masaru jumped at the sudden yell, and the girl startled awake and bolted upright with a squeak. Turning around, the Leaf ninja found a group of men approaching at a quick jog, all wearing headbands bearing a stylized waterfall. One, a young man with long brown hair, skidded to a stop and looked at the scene in shock before leveling the girl with an exasperated-looking frown. " _Fu..._ "

"What? I just woke up! You can't blame me!" She crossed her arms and pouted at him childishly, and the man just sighed in frustration.

"...Shibuki-san?" Aoba guessed, looking between him and the green-haired girl a bit incredulously, and the man paused before turning to him with a startled look.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I forgot to greet you! Please forgive my rudeness! I am Shibuki, the leader of Taki." He quickly dipped his torso in a bow, and for some reason Masaru felt a sudden sense of kinship with the nervous young man.

Then he felt eyes boring into his back, and he slowly turned to see the girl—Fu—staring at him with sparkling orange eyes.

Oh.

Oh no.

Wincing, he quietly edged closer to Gaku and Fu turned her head to follow him, not even blinking. His teacher looked fairly amused by his predicament, and he could hear Izumo suppressing a snicker. Fu's head slowly tilted to the side and her eyes seemed to sparkle even more, blinking at him curiously. Before she could speak though Shibuki stalked over to her and lightly smacked her arm, giving the girl an admonishing look. "Don't sneak off like that Fu! You had me really worried!"

"But, Shibuki," she protested, frowning at him. "Nothing happened!"

"Uh, I wouldn't say nothing," Gaku muttered, glancing at the fallen bandits. Fu turned to look at them and stepped back in surprise.

"What the—when did that happen?"

"While you were napping?" Izumo interjected, looking a bit bemused. The other two Waterfall ninja leveled a scolding look on Fu, who wilted and smiled sheepishly.

"Oh... R-right. Eheh, sorry..."

Shibuki sighed, shaking his head as he turned back to the Leaf ninja. "Thank you for helping protect Fu. I apologize for any trouble you may have endured because of her."

"Oh, don't thank us," Aoba said, smirking slightly as he patted Masaru's shoulder. "Thank Masaru-chan here. He took them down himself." And just like that he had Fu's undivided attention once more, her eyes now _glittering_ with awe and excitement. Within _seconds_ she was right in front of him, making him stumble back in shock.

"You! You're my age!" she gasped, her face lighting up with a giant grin. "Oh my gosh I've never met a foreign ninja my age! Well I haven't met many foreign ninja period but still this is so cool! I'm Fu! Do you want to be friends?"

Masaru just stared at her in mild shock, a little overwhelmed by her highly energetic and enthusiastic demeanor. Every second he didn't respond her smile grew a little less wide and the sparkle in her eye began to fade bit by bit, the excited gleam replaced by a strangely familiar loneliness, and then—

Blue replaced orange and gold replaced green, and suddenly he saw Naruto in her place, staring at him with eager anticipation.

Just as soon as the vision appeared it vanished, leaving Masaru staring at Fu once more. Surprised, he blinked and rubbed his eyes, and by the time he lowered his hands her smile had faded and her face reminded him of a wilted flower, disappointment and resignation dully reflected in her eyes as she looked down. The sight tugged at his heart, bringing renewed visions of a younger Naruto with that same look.

At that moment he knew that if he left her like that, he would _never_ be able to look Naruto in the eye again.

"S-sure," he said quickly, plastering on a feeble smile. "I'll be your friend."

Fu's face instantly brightened into one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen, her entire body seeming to _glow_ as she leapt into the air with an overjoyed shout. "YES! I made a friend! I made a friend! I finally have a friend now!" Grabbing his hands, she squeezed them and looked into his eyes with an excited grin, the air around her seeming to shimmer and glitter. "Oh my gosh this is so amazing! Ah, what do friends do? Oh! Oh! Maybe we could spar or we could play hide and seek or maybe—"

"Uh, Fu, sorry to interrupt," Shibuki suddenly interjected, "But you do realize that you're not going to Konoha, right?"

Fu froze, slowly turning to look at Shibuki with her smile frozen. "Huh?"

"You're not going to Konoha with us," he repeated, and sighed as he turned to Gaku. "Fu's actually not supposed to be here, but she snuck out of the village to follow us. Kegon-san," he nodded to one of the men, "came to escort her back, but she snuck off and ran ahead. We were just looking for her when Shintoki sensed the fight. Sorry again about that."

"Don't worry about it," Gaku assured him with a smile. "We've been wanting a chance for Masaru-kun to get some actual battle experience anyway, so it worked out fine for us."

"Oh, I see. That's... good, then?" Shibuki seemed a bit hesitant, but it faded as he turned back to Fu. "Anyways, I'm sorry Fu, but you need to go back. _Now_."

"But... We just met..." She pouted as she glanced between him and Masaru, and then let out a melodramatic whine. "Shibuuuukiiii, I just made a friend! Don't make me leave alreadyyyy!"

"Fu," one of the other Waterfall ninja said in a warning tone, and she groaned loudly, now seeming to radiate despair. Masaru felt a tinge of a panic as she began to grow increasingly upset, mainly because he did not really know how to handle upset people and also because she _still_ had a death grip on his hands.

"I-it's okay!" he said quickly. "We can still be friends! S-somehow..." He glanced to Gaku pleadingly, silently begging for help, and his teacher shot him a startled look.

"Well, uh, you could, ah," he started, glancing to Shibuki. The leader of Taki seemed equally flustered by his genin's growing despair.

"W-well, we'll think of... something," he said quickly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But right now, you really need to go back, okay Fu?" Still disappointed, she sighed and nodded, her expression reminding Masaru a bit of a sad puppy as she released her hold on his hands.

"Okay," she mumbled dejectedly, and then turned to Masaru. "But someday you have to come to Taki! Pleeaaaase?" The puppy-dog look grew even stronger as she clasped her hands together, her face pleading and begging him to agree.

"Um, if the Hokage and Shibuki-sama let me I will," he promised, offering her a feeble smile. Cue excited cheer from Fu and another excited jump, this time soaring even higher than the last time. (Did... did gravity affect her? At all?) Fluttering to the ground, she grinned at him and clasped his hands once more.

"I'm holding you to that!" she declared brightly, and Masaru's smile grew a little less feeble.

* * *

"So you got to take down your first bandits, helped escort the leader of an allied village, _and_ met a cute girl? Quite the player, aren't you Masaru-kun?"

Tenten smirked cheekily at Masaru as she sucked a piece of kung pao chicken off her chopsticks, making the Uchiha groan embarrassedly and shrink into his seat. After guiding Shibuki and his remaining guard to Konoha, the Hokage graciously granted Masaru a reprieve from escort missions in light of his first real battle, much to his relief. On his first day back he'd run into Tenten, and since the pair had developed a loose friendship from their sparring matches, he'd readily accepted when she invited him to grab lunch together.

Between leaving the village to escort visitors and training to learn Foxfire, Masaru hadn't really seen any of the other genin over the past two weeks. He'd only seen Sasuke once, when his cousin had stopped by the apartment to shower. Meanwhile he'd seen Naruto twice, but the whiskered boy spent most of his time with Jiraiya, who had agreed to train him for the preliminaries, partially due to a joint effort between Naruto and Masaru.

Masaru paused as he remembered that little episode. The day Gaku-sensei told him about their itinerary for the month, Masaru had met with Jiraiya to have him supervise his own training session only for Naruto to arrive an hour into it. Apparently Kakashi arranged for him to study under some other guy Naruto called a closet pervert, but Naruto then remembered Sakura's explanation about the Sannin and thus decided Jiraiya must be a better teacher.

 _"Look, kid, I'm really not in the mood to do any hands-on training," the Toad Sage muttered, shrugging lazily. "I'm perfectly fine just supervising Masaru-kun right now. Kid doesn't need any hands-on help yet with the jutsu he's learning, so I can work on other important stuff at the same time."_

 _Even as he spoke Jiraiya sat near a tree hunched over a manuscript, brush in hand as he jotted down undoubtedly riveting adventures. Or more likely just erotic fiction, judging by the creepy smile and giggle that sometimes slipped out. Naruto just stared at him sourly, not buying it._

 _"Yeah right! You're just writing more of those stupid perverted books!" he yelled, his face turning bright red as he jabbed a finger at the sage. "You just want an excuse to be lazy!" A tick mark appeared on Jiraiya's forehead, setting down the brush as he looked at Naruto with a smile full of gritted teeth._

 _"Now listen here,_ kid _, I don't have time—"_

 _"Jiraiya-sama," Masaru suddenly interrupted, and both males turned in surprise to the Uchiha. Smiling serenely at the Toad Sage, Masaru's eyes abruptly bled red as the Sharingan formed. "Please train Naruto."_

Masaru smirked as he remembered how the perverted sage had shuddered and agreed on the condition Masaru never did that again. Apparently the Sharingan looked extra creepy when paired with a perfectly placid and polite smile, which he personally found kind of hilarious.

"Seriously though, great job," Tenten commented, drawing him back to the present. "I'm glad to know our sparring matches helped you out too."

Masaru paused, a thought occurring to him. "Sasuke told me Neji made it through, but he didn't tell me about any of the matches." Recognizing his underlying question, Tenten huffed a small sigh and reclined in her seat.

"I lost to a guy from Ame, Nao something," she admitted sheepishly. "It was actually pretty close, but he hit one of my empty weapon scrolls with a water bullet loaded with senbon, and it _totally_ shredded it. I don't know what would happen if a _full_ storage scroll got shredded like that, and I was already pretty beat up and tired by that point anyway, so I decided to cut my losses and forfeit."

Masaru nodded in understanding. Storage scrolls could get pretty pricey, and while Tenten had found a knack for making them it still took her a lot of time. On top of that, if a full scroll got destroyed that might just destroy its contents too, which would create a _major_ setback for her. "Well, at least you got some experience," he commented with a shrug, and she smiled.

"Yeah. I thought I'd be more disappointed, but I'm actually pretty satisfied just making it that far on my first go. Next time I'll definitely make chuunin!" Her words carried a strong note of confidence that made Masaru smile, feeling no doubts that she would.

"Yeah, well, I'm definitely _not_ satisfied." The pair turned towards the new voice to find Kiba walking towards their table, Akamaru sitting on his head like always. His entrance surprised Masaru since they'd never actually interacted that much, and it only grew when he plopped into one of the empty chairs. "I still can't believe I got taken out by that Oto chick so easily. Dammit, it annoys me just thinking about it!" Akamaru yipped in agreement, his fur standing slightly on end in a show of irritation.

"Well, to be fair, she used sound-based genjutsu," Tenten pointed out. "And you're an Inuzuka, you kinda have super-canine-hearing. It was a bad match up."

"Yeah, yeah, but that still doesn't make it any less frustrating. I'm the only one from my team that didn't make it to the finals!" Akamaru jumped off his head just before Kiba slammed his face onto the table, groaning lowly. "Dammit, this month is so _boring_. Shino and Hinata are off training with their dads and me and Akamaru are stuck doing D-ranks all on our own!"

Figuring he should probably try to say something comforting, Masaru awkwardly offered, "At least you don't have to escort foreign noble girls who keep flirting with you...?" Kiba raised his head to stare at him in shock, even Tenten looking at him slightly askance.

"You escort nobles?" Kiba stammered in disbelief. "And they _hit on_ you? No fair! That sounds awesome!"

"I haven't even _met_ a noble yet," Tenten moaned, sinking into her seat dejectedly. "We got to escort a merchant to the capital who had to meet the daimyo, but we didn't even get to walk past the gates of the capital. We just got the payment and turned right around."

Obviously, Masaru's attempt to comfort Kiba had the opposite effect. "It's really not that great," he protested weakly. "They'd giggle at everything I say and kept acting super clumsy so I'd catch them. And I can't even train around them because I might burn them."

"You're working on fire jutsu?" Thankfully his newest attempt at redirection apparently worked, because Tenten looked at him with a renewed interest. Relieved, Masaru smiled and bobbed his head in confirmation.

"Yeah, it's called Foxfire. My mom made it. It basically combines taijutsu with katon. I'm still working out all the kinks, but I got a good start."

Training had been slow going due to all the escort missions. He'd gotten the fireball down and received a pair of gloves lined with fireproof seals from Jiraiya, but his first few attempts to "snag" the fireball hadn't gone too well as it usually dissipated before he could infuse it with chakra. Then when Masaru finally got it, he'd been so surprised his focus slipped, and the fire died out instantly.

It took him five more tries to get it again, and since then he'd just been working on _holding_ it. So far he could maintain it for a little under three minutes before his control slipped, and that was _without_ the usual distractions of battle. Not to mention he couldn't do any of the shape manipulation Jiraiya showed off yet.

Needless to say, he had a long way to go before he'd feel ready to use it in a fight.

"Wait, so when you say it combines katon and taijutsu, do you mean you have flaming punches and all that?" Kiba asked, leaning forward with a renewed interest.

"Y-yeah, I guess?" Masaru shrugged, feeling a bit unsettled by the sudden gleam in his eyes. The Inuzuka clearly had an idea now, and judging by the fact even _Akamaru_ looked at him with a sympathetic face, he could guess it would not end well for him.

"All this talk is getting me really motivated," Kiba declared with a cocky grin. "Akamaru and I need to step up our game." The dog yipped and wagged his tail, seeming to flash his own confident smile to match his partner's. Masaru just smiled, though he still felt a bit uneasy. Time to go.

"I should too," he declared, getting up. "I'll see you later, I guess?" He nodded at them before he turned and quickly started to walk away, only to be stopped by a harsh tug on his collar. Jerking to a halt with a startled yelp, he turned to see Kiba standing behind him with a predatory smirk.

"You think you can just walk away?" he taunted, his lips curling back to bare his teeth in a feral grin. "Tough luck Uchiha. Akamaru and I need a sparring partner." With that he grabbed Masaru's arm and started dragging him away, the Uchiha boy too stunned to protest. He shot a desperate look at Tenten but she just smiled and shrugged, waving him off.

At that Masaru just resigned himself to his fate and started following Kiba of his own will. He'd never fought a canine before, so this would be good experience. Not experience he'd likely need in the field, since not many shinobi used animal partners, but still.

Besides, maybe getting some actual physical practice with Foxfire would help him figure out the kinks.

* * *

Physical practice did not help as much as he wanted.

Masaru frowned as he stood before the gates, his feet rooted in place and his gaze locked on the ground. A faded emblem of a large red and white fan decorated the wall, the once bright paint worn and chipped from years of neglect.

Visiting the Uchiha Clan compound never felt pleasant. Every time he walked through the gates flashes of blood-soaked streets flashed through his mind, glassy eyes staring at him from faces contorted in soundless agonized screams. Each passing year the memories faded bit by bit, growing duller and a little less detailed, but even so they still held a startling clarity that left him sick to his stomach.

Right now, Masaru just wanted to turn around and walk away as fast as possible, but he knew he _had_ to go inside. Progress with Foxfire had been too slow, and he didn't want to disturb Naruto's own training by asking Jiraiya for help. Gaku of course tried to help too, but he had no affinity for fire which limited his capabilities to help. As the creator of the jutsu, Masaru thought his mother must naturally have more detailed notes on it somewhere, so he had to go to there.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he took a deep breath and forced himself to walk through the gates. Even after all these years, the path to his old house had burned deep into his memory. He navigated the streets blindly, moving at a brisk pace but not running as he wove around the many corners and side streets. When he opened his eyes again his old house stood in front of him, and he quietly unlocked the front door.

A plethora of familiar scents assaulted him when he stepped inside, nearly staggering at the abrupt rush of deja vu it produced. His house didn't have a specific smell to it he could identify like flowers or paint, but it still had its own unique scent that just smelled like _home_. Masaru's heart twisted with nostalgia and longing as he slowly walked through the house, each corner and open door bringing back a flood of memories both fond and painful.

His mother's study remained untouched from his last visit two years ago. He'd anticipated the fine layer of dust on everything, and pulled out a rag to start cleaning off the books. Wiping off the last row, Masaru set the dusty rag on the desk and started examining the titles. While he'd taken a good chunk of books to his room over the years, he never failed to feel awestruck by the sheer variety of topics in his mother's personal study. _An Abridged History of Kiri._ _A Beginner's Handbook to Bukijutsu. Psychology of Genjutsu. Folklore of Uzushio._

His lips quirked into a small smile at the last one, pulling it off the shelf. The book looked a bit older than most in her collection, the hard cover slightly cracked and faded from age. Hazy memories of his mother sitting at his bedside reading from the book flickered through his mind, the swirling whirlpools decorating the cover strangely hypnotic as he listened to her melodic voice recite the stories inside.

Smiling fondly, he gently set it on the desk to take home before resuming his search. Fiction and nonfiction had been mixed together across the various shelves, the books arranged with no apparent logic or organization save for a few scattered clusters of semi-related books. It made it easy to lose track of his objective, various titles on the spines catching his attention and distracting him. He grabbed a couple on the Sharingan, as well as one on puppetry and another on poisons.

Finally Masaru noticed a cluster of notebooks squeezed between several thick textbooks, and his mouth curved into a triumphant smirk as he quickly pulled them out. Handwritten titles adorned each cover to hint at the contents, and as he sorted through the small stack he paused when he found one titled ' _Katon Experiments._ ' Bingo.

Quickly opening it, he skimmed the pages and found it contained a series of diagrams and complicated notes on chakra theory. Ryoko had included rough sketches depicting how the final techniques might look, so when he found one showing a fist surrounded by fire he easily identified it as Foxfire. A quick glance at the writing revealed no major shortcuts, but it did detail some new training techniques that would help speed his work.

Satisfied, he closed it and set it on the pile of books he'd amassed to take home, only to pause when he noticed the book that had been beneath it. Unlike the others this one had a perfectly blank cover, save for a small drawing of an Uchiha fan in the corner. Curious, Masaru opened it to find a sketch of a young woman's face staring at him.

The drawing had been done in pencil, smudged shading giving her skin a darker tone that reminded him of Cloud ninja. Her hair had an asymmetrical cut to it, dark curls bounding down the left side of her head while her right side had been shaved to the ear to leave only light fuzz. He had no idea who she was, but her smile seemed rather coy.

Curiosity piqued, he began flipping through the pages, finding more drawings. Some depicted similar headshots of unfamiliar people, a few wearing hitai-ate from other villages, but as he continued looking he began to recognize more and more familiar faces. A portrait of Sasuke's mother arranging flowers, a picture of who he recognized to be Shisui unsheathing a tanto. A more full drawing of Jiraiya spying from some bushes with a perverted grin, while an unfamiliar light-haired woman loomed behind him with an ominous glare.

Idly studying the various drawings, Masaru turned another page only to freeze. A long-haired woman stood with her hands folded over her heart, her eyes closed and her mouth curved into a peaceful smile offset by the small trickle of blood dripping from the right corner. Behind her the Kyuubi's face glowered at him, its pupils sharp pinpricks and the irises shaded in a way that made them seem to glow, even in just pencil.

Shuddering, he slowly closed the sketchbook and added it to the pile of books to take home. He could look at it later, for now he decided to go home and get to work.

* * *

 **Remember when I asked for OC names a while back? We are now entering the period where they become relevant! Nao comes from ididn'tdoityoucan'tproveit, on fanfiction. Aomine Shintoki comes from KioshiUshima, on the same site.** Thanks for the suggestions! Some more names will appear next chapter!

However, before I go, a major announcement: **I will be cutting down to one chapter a week.** I'm back in class now, and even though it's only been two weeks it's already limiting my free time—and I haven't even been to my job since the semester started! Right now I'm on Chapter 37 in the draft, so that would mean only three weeks of chapters if I do two updates a week. Editing chapters to post them can take anywhere from half an hour to two because I'll rewrite parts I feel are lacking or feel too jumbled or rambly, and I'd rather use my limited free time to create new content. I'm sorry to cut down on updates when you're used to two. But I do want to be able to post with some regularity.

I'll still post every Monday, so see you then!


	32. Chapter 31: Birthdays for Everyone

Chapter 31

* * *

 _"They say another year older, another year wiser. I firmly disagree with this notion, because clearly whoever said that has never seen how a college student celebrates birthdays."_

* * *

 _"Uncle Obito... I'm... I'm scared."_

 _Masaru's voice shook as he sat hunched before his uncle's grave, his body shaking violently as his arms wrapped around himself in a tight hug. Tears dripped to the dirt below him as he tried not to sob, the minute shift in coloring of the soil from the added moisture startlingly clear as his eyes spun with four wavering tomoe._

 _"I... I don't want these eyes... I—I see them everywhere, I... I-I—"_

 _His words cut off with a sharp sob, doubling over and nearly pressing his head to the ground as he began crying._

 _The Sharingan were cursed eyes. They embodied pain and suffering. They embodied loss, grief, rage, so many hurtful, awful things—_

 _They reminded him that he didn't have_ her _anymore._

 _Akari was gone, his sister was gone, gone gone_ gone _..._

 _A warm presence suddenly appeared at his back and fingers tenderly stroked through his hair, another hand gently rubbed his back. Strong arms pulled him close and an unfamiliar masculine voice gently shushed his sobs, but Masaru didn't feel scared or wary. He just cried into the man's chest, sobbing and hiccupping and releasing all the horrible pent-up feelings he'd been feeling ever since that night._

 _Eventually his sobs quieted to small sniffles, and he pulled away, rubbing his eyes. Stars danced behind his eyelids as he pressed the heels of his palms against them, but then he felt those same strong hands grab his wrists and firmly pull his hands away before releasing their grip. Sniffling one more time, he opened his eyes and waited for his vision to clear._

 _When the spots faded he saw Akari kneeling next to him at the low table, her eyes closed as she sniffed one of the flowers in the vase on the table's center. His stomach flipped at the sight and he leaned forward, his hands splaying in front of him. "A-Akari?" he gasped, and she hummed as she twirled the flower stem in her fingers, burying her nose in its petals to inhale the aroma._

 _"Sagiso looks weird, doesn't it?" she commented. "Mom says it looks kinda like a dove, but I don't see it." She gestured to the vase for him to look at the vase, too busy sniffing the one in her hand to show it to him, and he squinted at the white orchids and found himself agreeing with their mother. Two petals extended from a long white shaft, the ends frayed and fringed not unlike wings of a bird in flight, while two more petals sprouted from the stem and flared upwards to act as tail feathers._

 _He opened his mouth to voice the sentiment, but instead he found himself saying, "I miss you. Why did you go?" Akari frowned, turning her head away and crossing her arms with a huff._

 _"I didn't_ want _to go, Masa. No one wanted to, we didn't have a choice." He winced at her tone, looking at his lap guiltily._

 _"I... I know, but..." He trailed off, his vision blurring with tears. He missed her, he missed her so much. Waking up without his other half every morning felt so wrong, every accomplishment felt insignificant without her there to celebrate with him. Every day he went through the motions and lived his life, but he never felt_ whole _. He could feel the emptiness left by her absence, it always weighed down on him no matter what happened._

 _Turning her head to look at Masaru, a choked gasp caught in his throat as he saw a gaping hole in her right eye socket, the empty cavity weeping thick black blood like tears._

 _"I miss you too, Masaru," she told him, and offered the most melancholic and horrific smile he'd ever seen._

Masaru woke up with a start, visions of his sister's eyeless smile flashing through his head as he opened his eyes to darkness. He could feel a now-familiar tingle in his eyes accompanied a sense of overwhelming clarity, and he knew he'd see red eyes if he looked in the mirror. His face twisted into a bitter scowl as he sat up, burying the heels of his palms into the eyes until spots danced behind his eyelids.

The worst part about Sasuke being gone for training was the nights. Waking up alone after horrible nightmares felt a lot more bearable when he had someone there with him, even if Sasuke slept in another room, but waking up to an empty apartment left him feeling hollow. Sleep never came easy after nightmares, so he decided to just not even bother trying.

Slowly clambering out of bed, he stalked to the bookshelf and pulled out a few random books, carrying them into the kitchen. Only after switching on the lights did he see what he'd grabbed, and his lips quirked into an amused smile at the odd assortment. Experimental space-time fuinjutsu would be far too heavy of a read for late night, and he knew from experience that medical textbooks could have some rather graphic photos. Meanwhile he'd practically memorized the book about chakra control.

That left one, _Legends of Uzushio_.

He couldn't help but smile nostalgically as he carried the familiar tome to the ceiling to read it, making sure to stick some leaves he'd picked up at the park onto his forehead beforehand. One of the tips in his mom's notes on Foxfire had been to use multiple chakra control exercises at once, while also performing a "mundane" task. This not only expanded his control and reserves, but also helped him learn to unconsciously split his focus between multiple tasks, which would eventually extend into battle situations.

Progress went a lot faster now that he had those notes.

Back to the book, Masaru sat cross-legged on the ceiling and began flicking through the pages. Many years had passed since he'd last heard any of the stories—she stopped reading it before he and Akari started at the academy—but even so several of the titles niggled at his memory. Princess of the Eddies, the Lunar Pool, the Fox and the Mermaid...

He chose to read an unfamiliar tale about the first anniversary of Uzushio's founding, which somehow involved a lot of octopi dressed in silly outfits and a young Senju Hashirama nearly falling victim to a drunken ritual sacrifice. As he pondered _how the hell_ that happened, Masaru turned the page and blinked as he noticed an envelope begin to slip out from between two pages deeper into the book.

With a deftness that served as a testament to his training, he snatched it from the air before it could flutter even a few inches from the book. And even as he opened it Masaru realized with no small amount of pride that the leaves had not fallen from his forehead during the brief distraction, either. _Progress!_

Sadly, his triumph did not last long, as it _did_ fall once he saw the envelope's contents.

Masaru found himself holding a photo of teenage versions of his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, and some Inuzuka woman (Kiba's mom, maybe?), all crowded around a beaming red-headed girl sporting a mischievous grin. All of the teenagers flashed rather goofy looks at the camera in stark contrast to the serious adult women Masaru remembered from his early childhood, Mikoto even giving the oblivious redhead bunny ears with two fingers while his mom obviously tried not to laugh.

Bizarre as _that_ was, Masaru found himself more stunned by the red-haired girl herself. She looked younger and obviously had more color, but somehow he recognized her instantly as the woman from the drawing with the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Red writing on the wall behind them declared " _Birthdays, Uzumaki-style!_ "

...Why did he get the feeling that wasn't written in blood?

Shaking it off, he focused on the writing itself. "Uzumaki," he murmured softly as he began flipping through the other photos, visions of a familiar blond flickering through his mind. He had heard the name plenty of times in the past due to this very book, but he'd never actually made the connection to Naruto before. He frowned intently at a photo of the redheaded girl as she leaned over a birthday cake, her violet eyes sparkling in the glow of the candles.

Could this be Naruto's mom?

 _"Hey, psst! Masaru!"_

 _Masaru paused as he heard someone call his name in a loud whisper, turning to look behind him. A familiar shock of bright golden hair peeked around the corner, Naruto glancing around and gesturing for him to come closer. "There you are! I don't have much time, so—"_

 _"UZUMAKI!" a booming voice bellowed from down the hall, making him jump with a startled yelp. Panic flashed in his face and he rushed out of his hiding spot, thrusting a piece of paper in Masaru's hands._

 _"Gotta go, read that, bye!" He zoomed away without waiting for a response, a red-faced academy instructor soon skidding into sight. The man breathed heavily as he looked between Masaru and the direction Naruto went. On pure instinct Masaru hid the paper from his sight, stuffing it into his pocket before the teacher could see it._

 _"Did he talk to you!?" he almost snarled. Masaru just stared at him blankly, mutely shaking his head. The man growled under his breath as he ran off in pursuit of Naruto, and only when he'd left his line of sight did Masaru pull out the paper again._

 _It was a handmade card, with a drawing of a chibi Naruto and a bowl of what he probably intended to be ramen above the message "You are invited to Uzumaki Naruto's 8th birthday on October 10th at 4 PM! Meet him at the Hokage Rock!"_

 _Masaru stared at the invitation blankly, his eyes hollow. The teacher's furious glower and snarl played through his mind, and the paper crinkled as his grip tightened._

 _Every time Naruto talked to him, the adults got mad... Even if Masaru initiated the contact, Naruto got in trouble, not him._

 _Eyes narrowing, he balled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket, turning and resuming his solitary tread to the entrance._

In the present Masaru frowned as he recalled the long-ago memory. He never did show up to Naruto's birthday, and after that Naruto never tried to approach him anymore. Skipping out on the event had probably hurt him, but avoiding the blond had been Masaru's own silent gift to his first friend. Their friendship caused Naruto nothing but suffering, so at least that way, Naruto wouldn't get in trouble because of Masaru anymore.

He sighed as he slipped the photos back into the envelope, flipping onto the apartment floor and closing the book quietly. He'd have to make it up to Naruto this year. Maybe he could borrow some ideas from the photos...

Speaking of birthdays, he should get to work. Not like he had anything better to do at three in the morning.

* * *

Sasuke sighed tiredly as he stalked through the streets, the early evening sky starting to tint gold and orange as the sun neared the horizon. He and Kakashi had spent nearly every day training since the second phase ended, and even now he could feel phantom tingling in his arm from executing the Chidori. It had been a busy month so far and he'd be more than content to keep training until the tournament itself, but Kakashi had finally ordered him to return home for two days to rest.

Running a hand through his hair as he reached his apartment, he started to open the door only to pause when the faint aroma of fresh tomatoes wafted through the crack. Shoulders drooping in contentment, he opened the door fully and stepped inside to find Masaru standing in the kitchen, hunched over a boiling pot. His cousin glanced at him in surprise, and then smiled. "You're back!"

"Kakashi made me take the rest of the day off. Are you making tomato soup?"

"Yeah. I also made some onigiri with okaka and tomato, too. They're in the fridge." Sasuke looked at him in surprise, feeling his mouth salivate at the thought of his favorite food.

"What's the occasion?" he asked, and Masaru seemed to falter, looking at him with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"...Uh... You don't remember...?" When Sasuke shook his head, his cousin just sighed and offered a pointed glance to the calendar. Following his gaze, Sasuke noted every day had been crossed out, leaving only the current date: July 23. Still a bit tired from training (and a bit distracted by the delicious aromas), it admittedly took a few seconds longer than it should to make the connection.

"Oh. Right. My birthday." Masaru just shot him an exasperated look, before turning back to the pot with a sigh.

"...Sasuke, go take a bath. Dinner should be done by the time you finish." Sasuke grunted and headed for the bathroom, admittedly a bit wistful at the thought of soaking his tired muscles in nice, warm water. Half an hour later he emerged clean and far more relaxed than when he'd arrived, his exhaustion largely washed away. True to his word, Masaru had set the table with two bowls, and promptly filled two bowls with still-warm soup.

"Can you get the cups?" he asked, and Sasuke grunted as he trotted over to the cupboard to grab three teacups. Shortly before the massacre Ryoko had painted one of her teacups just for him, decorating it with a pattern of swirling storm clouds sprouting lightning. Masaru's own personal teacup had a swarm of golden dragonflies buzzing about it, their wings painted with ornate, glittering patterns.

Carrying them back to the table, he set them down at each place, and Masaru glanced at the third teacup with no small amount of surprise. "That's..."

"Figured it's only fair," Sasuke said with a shrug, and his cousin smiled, his eyes wistful as he studied the autumn foliage decorating his sister's cup.

Dinner unfolded with a pleasant atmosphere, the two boys exchanging stories about their various adventures over the past month. Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes at the mention of the flirty noble girls, while Masaru expressed sufficient awe at his description of his progress. "I'll show you the Chidori tomorrow," he offered, but his cousin shook his head.

"No, let's just take tomorrow off from ninja stuff." Frowning, Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but paused when Masaru raised a hand. Calmly setting down his spoon, he offered Sasuke the most pleasant smile he'd ever seen and then activated his Sharingan.

The aspiring avenger nearly recoiled at the stark contrast the visual provided. It _really_ shouldn't be that disturbing, but somehow the sight of their clan's deadly and fearsome doujutsu paired with such a placid, _sweet_ expression made his stomach churn.

"We're taking the day off," Masaru repeated calmly, still smiling, and Sasuke shuddered.

"R-right, we'll... take it off," he mumbled, pointedly looking away. "J-just, don't do that, okay?" Masaru's eyes returned to their normal black and he calmly resumed eating. Still slightly shocked, after a moment Sasuke slowly reached for an onigiri, mumbling to himself all the while. "What the hell...?"

Masaru just smirked, the picture of smugness.

Sasuke decided to take a page from Naruto's book and threw a clump of rice at him, and felt rather smug when Masaru yelped and nearly fell off his chair in surprise. Immature, maybe, but so strangely satisfying.

* * *

Sakura frowned as she stared at the mirror, fidgeting awkwardly. "Is... is it too fancy?" she mumbled to herself, her old childhood uncertainty rearing its ugly head. The dress had been quite pricey and _definitely_ looked good on her, what with the deep ruby color and the form-fitting figure, tied at the waist with a light pink sash. It wouldn't be practical for anything highly physical, but today she had mostly civilian activities planned.

Still, she had doubts. While she wouldn't be doing any super-physical ninja work today, she would still be _technically_ performing a mission. And before that, she'd be meeting Sasuke-kun for his birthday.

Sighing in frustration, Sakura stripped out of the dress and began combing her closet for alternatives. "Of all the days for Ino to be working," she grumbled under her breath. Right now she could really use her best friend's fashion advice, but unfortunately Ino had been roped into working at her family's flower shop for the day since all team activities had been suspended so Asuma could focus on training Shikamaru for the finals.

Pulling out a pale yellow sundress, she pulled it on and looked at her reflection appraisingly. This looked... cute. The wide collar showed off her collarbone quite well and the short sleeves granted her arms plenty of mobility, and it had a pattern of pastel green leaves which gave it a summery feel. The length felt a bit awkward though, extending just past her knees.

Inspired, she began rummaging through her drawers for a pair of scissors. She carefully cut along the bottom to end closer to her waist, and then pulled on light green leggings. Much better. Still, something seemed to be missing. Eying her reflection contemplatively, Sakura touched her hair with a thoughtful look.

Fifteen minutes later, she stood outside a restaurant, glancing around the busy street before spying a familiar head of black hair. "Sasuke-kun! Masaru! Hey!" She waved eagerly with a bright smile as her crush and his cousin approached, the pair pausing to look at her in mild surprise.

"Sakura," Masaru greeted once they got closer. "Your hair, it's..."

"Ah, yeah, it felt a little long so I trimmed it a bit." She smiled sheepishly as she fiddled with one of the ends, her formerly long pink locks trimmed to reach her shoulders. Cutting it had been a whim, but it felt so much _better_ like this. She hadn't realized just how hot her hair had been until shearing it. Later she might have to ask Ino to cut it a little shorter—just a little.

Discreetly glancing at Sasuke, Sakura searched his face for signs of potential approval (or disapproval), but as usual he just looked impassive and bored as always. She resisted the urge to sigh, instead allowing a small smile to slip through. Sasuke's aloof nature had been one of his most attractive factors after all, if a little change like _this_ made him suddenly swoon over her, then she'd seriously question if he might be an imposter.

"Is Naruto coming?" she asked, and Masaru shook his head.

"We couldn't find him, so guess not."

"Probably for the best," she sighed. "I don't know if we could get him to stop training long enough even just to grab lunch. I'm kinda surprised _you_ took the day off, Sasuke-kun."

"I had no choice," he mumbled, shooting a sidelong glance at his cousin as he spoke. Was it just Sakura, or did he suddenly look kind of apprehensive? Shrugging it off, she just smiled and nodded.

"Well, that means we'll have to make this lunch extra special. Oh, right, before I forget!" Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a small white box tied with a red ribbon and held it to him. "Here, for your birthday. You can open it now if you want." Accepting it with a slightly curious glance, he pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid. Genuine surprise flashed across his features as he looked inside.

"What the...?" He lifted a pair of long blue wristbands, examining them with a slightly puzzled frown.

"It's a pair of gauntlets," she explained. "I figured I'd get you something practical. It's made with this special synthetic polymer that makes it extra sturdy and even fireproof. It has a loop that hooks around your middle finger, see?" She pointed to a fabric loop protruding from one of the ends as she spoke. "I also included the receipt in there so you can take it to the store to get metal plates sewn in if you want. Although you'd have to pay a fee, but, the gauntlets are _way_ pricier on their own so I think it's not too bad."

Sasuke still seemed mildly surprised by the gift, and after a few moments he put them back in the box and offered her a small smirk. "Not bad." Her heart soared at the open approval and Inner Sakura cheered in delight, pumping a fist into the air. Somehow outer Sakura managed to keep her cool, only a faint blush signifying her internal glee.

Masaru looked at the gift with particular interest. "You said they're fireproof?" he asked, and she bobbed her head quickly.

"Yeah. Since the Uchiha clan is known for fire jutsu, I thought it'd be a good fit."

"It is." He had a contemplative note to his voice, eying the gauntlets with... was that _envy_? The unusually sour look caught her by surprise. Usually Masaru just seemed sweet if a bit shy and awkward, kinda like Hinata but with more confidence outside of socialization. The emotion disappeared as quickly as it appeared though, and Sakura decided not to dwell on it.

"Anyways, we should get lunch now," she said, glancing at the sky. Judging by the sun's position she'd estimate it to be a little past noon, which meant she had two hours to spare. She smiled as she led the way inside, lightly raving about the menu and excellent service. Neither of the Uchiha boys had been to this particular restaurant before, which she considered a travesty because it had the _best_ anmitsu and sushi in all of Konoha!

The trio made pleasant conversation as they perused the menus, all three recounting their activities over the past month. Sasuke's training was going spectacularly as expected, Masaru had started experimenting with a jutsu apparently inherited from his mother ( _must not squeal_ ), and Sakura herself had _finally_ found a doctor at the hospital willing to teach her the Mystical Healing Palm.

Time flew by as they spoke, and eventually Sakura happened to glance at a clock on the wall and gasped in horror.

" _Crap!_ I have to be at the Hokage's office _in ten minutes!_ " Panicking, she yanked her coin pouch out of her purse and tossed it at the startled boys as she leapt to her feet. "Well, this was really fun but I need to go now. Here use this to pay and give it back to me later oh and dad says you guys are welcome anytime but that might be bad gotta go _bye_!"

With that she spun and raced away, zooming through Konoha's streets at record speeds. Remembering that rooftops would probably be faster, she accordingly changed her route and scaled the nearest building. Within two minutes the administration building came into sight, and she leaped onto the roof and burst through the window of the Hokage's office, gasping for breath as she skidded to a halt and doubled over.

The Hokage turned in his seat to look at her and raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking into an amused smile. "I see you're starting to take on some of Kakashi's habits," he chuckled, and she froze, an icy stab of terror filling her.

"Oh no, how late am I?!" she blurted, her face paling as she looked at him. "Oh kami, Lord Hokage I am so sorry! I had lunch with Sasuke-kun and Masaru for his birthday and totally lost track of time, I am so sorry—"

"Sakura-chan, you're not late," he interrupted before she could start hyperventilating. "I was referring to your entrance through the window. You're actually a few minutes early." Freezing, she stared at him blankly before her entire body sagged with relief.

"Oh, thank goodness," she groaned, hanging her head, and then paused and remembered she was in front of the Hokgae. The young kunoichi quickly straightened her back so she could properly bow. "I apologize for the loss of composure, I guess I let my nerves get the best of me."

"It's fine, Sakura," he assured her with a warm smile. "Let's get started." Turning around, he gestured for her to move to the front of the desk and she quickly scurried into place, giving another quick bow just to show she had _some_ manners.

Due to the influx of foreign dignitaries entering Konoha for the Chuunin Exams, Sakura had gotten the brilliant idea to give some of them tours of the village. When she'd mentioned it to Iruka-sensei he'd scheduled a meeting with the Hokage for her to share her idea. She hadn't actually expected the Hokage to agree and worried the meeting would be a waste of his time, but to her surprise he not only approved it, but actually _praised_ her for her initiative.

Foreign nobles would get more acquainted with the village which would give them incentive to hire Leaf ninja more, the local businesses would get a boost in sales, _and_ she'd be able to make some sweet connections that might be useful in the future. As far as she was concerned, it was a win-win-win.

"Now then, today's group is a bit different from the others," the Hokage began. "After introducing yourself, I want you to present the woman _this_ ," he gestured to a small bouquet of flowers and a gift bag, "and her guests one of _these_." He gestured to an assortment of colored gift bags, smaller than the other one.

"Understood," Sakura responded with a firm nod. "I'm ready whenever you want me to begin."

Smiling, the Hokage nodded and raised a hand in a silent signal for one of the ANBU in the room to tell the receptionist to fetch the guests. "Just don't be too surprised," he warned her, and Sakura shot him a questioning glance as the receptionist knocked and opened the door.

"Lord Hokage, the party from Ame is here," she informed them, and Sakura felt her blood freeze for just a second. Ame? As in Ame, the _Village Hidden in the Rain_ Ame? Before she could think on it too hard four figures filed inside, all wearing headbands with four vertical lines. Yep, ninja village Ame. This marked a first.

The obvious leader, a woman, had loose brown hair that hung over her shoulders in waves. Thick blue lines extended from her eyes in what Sakura supposed was meant to mimic rainfall, the paint almost perfectly matching the deep blue shade of her eyes. She stepped forward and briefly bowed, smiling at the Hokage pleasantly. "Thank you for hosting us and extending this lovely offer to us, Lord Hokage."

"It is no issue at all," he told her, and nodded to Sakura. She quickly stepped forward and bowed to the four guests. Internally she continued to freak out, but somehow she managed to keep calm externally and even managed a polite smile.

"Hello, my name is Haruno Sakura. I'll be your guide today." If her voice sounded a little shaky and high-pitched, no one commented on it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Sakura. My name is Masuyo, I am the official representative of Ame. These are my guests. Kyouya," she nodded to a man with an eye patch with three scars extending from it like claw marks, "Shinobu," a teenage boy maybe two years older than Sakura who looked totally awestruck by everything, "and my guard, Arata." The final man wore a respirator like some of the Ame genin she'd seen in the exam along with a pair of goggles and a hood pulled over his head, and had a red scarf draped loosely around his shoulders.

Sakura casually examined the small group, recognizing the first two from the preliminary matches as the teacher and one of the Rain genin. She suspected the other two genin to be unavailable due to training and—in the kunoichi's case—medical needs. In turn, that meant the two unfamiliar ones—or at least Masuyo—likely came to Konoha as the official representatives for Ame. _No pressure or anything._

Smiling, she pushed away her nerves and picked up the bouquet to present it to Masuyo. "It is an honor to host you today, Lady Masuyo," she told her. "Please accept this bouquet and these gift bags to commemorate your visit. Inside you will find coupons for various facilities around Konoha, as well as some other memorabilia to commemorate your stay."

Masuyo accepted the bouquet and proffered gift bag with a gracious smile, and Sakura quickly collected the remaining bags and flitted about the room. "For you, Kyouya-san, the green bag," she told the jounin sensei, handing him the bag in question, "To match your eye. For Shinobu-san, blue, because your yukata is blue," she smiled as she handed it to him, earning a small thanks in return, and then turned to the last man. "And of course, since Arata-san has that red scarf, you get the red bag." He accepted it with a silent nod, the others already checking the contents of the bags curiously.

As she turned to face Masuyo once more, the woman suddenly leaned forward and tucked one of the flowers from the bouquet behind her ear, making Sakura freeze and grow red. Masuyo offered her a warm smile, brushing a few strands of her hair away from the blossom. "And for you, Sakura-chan, a single white anemone. Do you know what that means?"

"Sincere," the genin breathed, feeling her cheeks flush as her fingers flitted upwards to gently touch the soft petals. Masuyo hummed in approval as she stepped back, and behind her Sakura could hear the Third chuckle in faint amusement.

"We can have the bouquet sent to your hotel room if you wish," he offered, and the woman smiled and nodded.

"Of course, thank you," she told him, plucking a single white daffodil from the bouquet and tucking it behind her own ear before handing it to him. _Respect_ , Sakura recalled from her _hanakotoba_ classes in the academy. Daffodils meant respect. It fit her, because as a foreign representative Masuyo deserved respect, but she herself also seemed quite respectful.

Smiling widely, Sakura bowed to them once more before clapping her hands, her nerves sated by the brief interaction. "Now that introductions have been completed, shall we begin?"

* * *

Meanwhile across Konoha, Gaara sat alone on the floor of his hotel room, leafing through a thick folder on his lap. Hours ago Baki had returned from a final strategy meeting with some representatives from Oto with the file in tow after Gaara had spent the better part of the past three weeks requesting it. Even now he could sense his jounin sensei hovering near the door, no doubt waiting anxiously for how he would react. Gaara rarely showed an interest in anything, so it left Baki understandably unsettled.

Ever since they arrived in Konoha, Gaara had been acting different. He still acted cruel, still treated his siblings and everyone else with detached apathy, but... He changed, just his lethal impulses, Gaara's behavior typically fell into easily defined patterns that made him fairly predictable after knowing him long enough, providing those who worked with him regularly an idea on to navigate any interactions. This, however, fell outside the known limits of Gaara's behavior, and Baki had no idea how to handle this new side of his student.

Sea foam eyes narrowed as the jincuuriki skimmed one page in particular, the complex medical jargon almost too thick for him to make much sense of it. However, he could understand just enough to decipher the information he desired. Visibly he showed no reaction, but internally his mind whirled with the implications.

"Mother," he murmured quietly. "Love is very twisted, isn't it..."

* * *

 **Omake: The Photos**

Kakashi had just sent Sasuke on a game of tag with the ninken when Tenzo suddenly appeared in the clearing with a panicked look. " _Senpai, help!_ " he hissed, and Kakashi felt his heart sink with dread.

"What happened?" he demanded quickly. "Did Orochimaru attack?"

"No, worse. Look!" He produced a pile of photos from his vest and thrust it at Kakashi, who looked at the top one with a heavy sense of foreboding—

...Was that a younger Jiraiya tied up and covered in makeup, with Tsunade and Orochimaru smirking behind him?

Staring at it blankly, Kakashi slowly leafed through the photos and oh _kami_ , was that a teenage Minato-sensei crying as he applied blush to Jiraiya? Yes, yes it was he realized, and that was _definitely_ a mischievous Kushina hovering behind his teenage sensei with a devilish grin. Stories he'd long forgotten came to mind, his eye widening with understanding.

"...Tenzo?" he asked hesitantly. "Why do you have photos from Kushina's fifteenth birthday?"

"Masaru found it in some book! He wanted to know who everyone in there is and what they're doing and I don't know what to say!"

"We'll figure it out—" Kakashi started, only to freeze when he saw the next photo. Four teenage kunoichi smirked drunkenly at the camera as they lifted half-empty bottles of beer, their clothes in obvious disarray and lipstick marks visible on their necks which matched the red splotches smeared across their mouths. More vague memories of Kushina snickering came to mind, and Kakashi's shoulders drooped. ...Right, they had a giant make-out session while drunk. That would be a little more uncomfortable to explain to Masaru.

"He wants to know what Uzumaki birthdays are like! What do I tell him?" Tenzo hissed desperately, snatching the photos back.

"...Just be thankful it's not the one from Kushina's eighteenth birthday," Kakashi finally said, and then disappeared in a swirl of leaves before Tenzo could question what he meant. The mokuton user just stood there dumbly, staring at the space Kakashi occupied. Seconds later Sasuke raced past him, a pack of overly hyper ninken nipping at his heels.


	33. Chapter 32: Rules of Sportsmanship

**Before I begin, I want to give credit for the names used in this chapter. "Nao" came from ididn'tdoityoucan'tprove it on FF. "Kyouya" came from SavannahNoire on AO3. "Midori" came from both SavannahNoire AND reebajee on FF (and on that note, I forgot to mention last chapter that "Shinobu" _also_ came from reebajee).**

Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Now begins the Invasion arc, which has been one of the greatest pains to write because of how much stuff is happening. Buckle in, this is gonna be a crazy ride.

Chapter 32

* * *

" _There are all kinds of quotes on sportsmanship, and being graceful in victory and loss. I wonder if those rules apply to battles to the death._ "

* * *

A loud buzz from countless chattering voices droned in the arena as Masaru walked down the aisle, looking around at the crowd filling the stands with an expression of awe. Today the third phase of the Chuunin Exams would commence, and he'd never seen so many people in one place before. Foreign dignitaries he vaguely recognized from his escort missions sat in cordoned off sections surrounded by guards, while masked ANBU agents stood stationed at various points towards the back of the stands in a visible display of security.

 _I wonder if Gaku-sensei is one of them,_ he wondered idly as he eyed the masked figures. Gaku-sensei had been drafted for security detail once again during the tournament, so Masaru hoped the man would show himself if he got a break.

"Masaru, come on!" he heard Sakura call, and he turned forward to see the pink-haired girl waving at him from the bottom of the steps, prompting him to scurry after her. Sakura had graciously invited him to join her to spectate the third phase, and seeing as he did not do well in crowded places alone he'd readily accepted. He smiled faintly as he fell into step behind her, following her towards a cluster of more familiar faces.

Kiba glanced over and waved eagerly as they approached, Akamaru raising his head and yipping excitedly. "Hey, Masaru! Sakura! I got a couple empty seats right here if you guys need a place to sit!"

"Thanks, Kiba," Sakura said, sliding into one of the empty chairs. Masaru sat in the chair between the two genin, leaning over to scratch Akamaru behind the ear.

"Hey Akamaru," he greeted, smiling at the happy puppy. Contented by the attention, the dog made the decision to ditch his partner and leapt off Kiba's lap to land in Masaru's. The change caught the Uchiha by surprise, but he quickly recovered and smiled as he continued to scratch the heavily satisfied canine.

"Seriously, Akamaru?" Kiba muttered, looking mildly exasperated at being abandoned by his best friend. Akamaru just shot him a look that looked strangely smug for a dog, his tail steadily thumping against Masaru's lap. Sakura just giggled at the scene, reaching over to join in petting the canine. Judging by the weird, drawn-out hum the puppy emitted, Akamaru had officially entered canine heaven.

"Ahhh!? _Sakura!?_ Your hair!" Masaru winced as a familiar screech sounded nearby, and turned to see Ino staring at her best friend in an open display of horror. "I-i-it's—it's _short_!" As she began sputtering in shock and dismay her father chuckled behind her and followed his old teammates into a nearby row, leaving the shocked girl alone with only Chouji for moral support.

"Looks good, Sakura," the Akimichi boy said, happily tossing a few chips into his mouth and totally ignoring his teammate's current emotional distress.

"Oh, thanks," Sakura replied, smiling as she touched the tips. "I'm still getting used to it, but it feels so much lighter." Chouji squeezed past them to plop into the empty seat on Kiba's other side, graciously allowing Ino to take the one next to Sakura.

"I can't believe you cut it," the blonde moaned. "It was so much fun styling each other's hair at sleepovers..."

"There, there, Ino," Sakura soothed, patting her shoulder. "You'll get used to it, don't worry."

"Hey, I just had a thought," Kiba suddenly said. "Sakura cut her hair, and Hinata already has super-short hair, so... That means Ino's the only girl from our year left with long hair, right?" The others paused at this, letting it sink in.

"So basically, that means it's Ino's turn to cut her hair next?" Chouji asked.

The subsequent screech from Ino hurt but was admittedly hilarious.

Kiba openly snickered at Ino's horrified sputtering, even Sakura stifling giggles. Masaru just smirked cheekily, still scratching Akamaru behind the ear. "Hey, it's probably way easier to care for when it's short," he commented. "Maybe it'll feel good."

His teasing made her freeze, staring at him with a sudden calculating look. Just like that he felt his brief surge of confidence vanish, because _dammit_ he forgot for a second Ino was a fangirl. "So you think I might look good with short hair, huh?" she mused aloud, and Sakura sighed and shook her head while Kiba smacked his forehead in frustration.

Chouji just happily munched on chips, totally uncaring of the mounting disaster unfolding next to him.

Soon enough the proctor called everyone's attention, his voice echoing loudly around the stadium as he signaled the start of the third phase. The twelve contenders filed onto the field at his signal and formed a line. As he rolled through the basic introductory spiel, Masaru noticed the other genin squinting at the proctor with frowns.

"Hey, isn't that a different guy from the preliminaries?" Kiba muttered, squinting at him.

"Yeah, it is," Ino agreed with a small frown. "They both wear bandanas, but the other guy coughed a lot more." Glancing between his classmates curiously, Masaru looked back to the announcer and briefly activated his Sharingan to get a better look.

"That's Genma-san," he told them. Noting his classmates' questioning looks, he shrugged and explained, "He was in the escort team for the Suna team." They nodded in understanding and turned back just as Genma dismissed a large chunk of the genin so the first match could begin. The day would start with Neji versus Niwakaame Nao from Ame.

(Distantly, Masaru thought he heard Tenten cheering for Neji.)

As the match unfolded the five genin began chatting lightly about the various match ups while watching curiously. The Rain genin used a ninjutsu-heavy style, blasting Neji with water bullets to try to keep him at a distance. Smart, he must have noticed the Hyuuga clan relied on hitting people's tenketsu points. Neji jabbed at the water bullets as he dodged them, the air seeming to shimmer as he dislodged the senbon hidden inside.

While Masaru observed the fight with thinly veiled fascination, he found his attention drifting to the conversation around him. "So that Oto bitch is up against Shino next," Kiba said with a feral smirk. "I'm _really_ looking forward to how that one goes."

"I really want to see how Shikamaru handles that stuck-up Temari," Sakura added, her eyes gleaming with sadistic anticipation. "He better not mess up." The obvious venom in her tone reminded Masaru that Sakura had lost to Temari in the preliminaries, and he subtly inched away from her as far as the seat would allow. Sadly, that did not mount to _nearly_ enough distance for his comfort.

"Who's Naruto fighting?" he asked.

"Don't you know?" Sakura asked, and when Masaru shook his head she said, "He's up against Hinata."

"Hinata?" Masaru grimaced and winced in sympathy.

"Poor girl," Ino murmured, sounding equally sympathetic. "I'd hate to be in her place."

"Why?" Chouji asked, munching on chips. "Do you think fighting Naruto would be that bad?"

"It's not that, Chouji," Kiba sighed, leaning back in his seat. "Hinata's got a major crush on Naruto. Haven't you ever noticed how she turns bright red whenever she sees him?"

"Girl's got it bad," Ino agreed with a sage nod. "And she's _way_ too shy to act on it." As she spoke she leaned forward and batted her eyelashes at Masaru, who made a stoic effort to ignore her. Instead he turned back to the match, just in time to see the Rain genin flash through some hand signs and sink into the ground.

Surprised at the sudden change in strategy, Masaru leaned forward in his seat to watch with his Sharingan whirling to life, watching more closely. Veins bulged around Neji's eyes as he whirled around in search of his opponent, and then suddenly hands sprouted from the earth to grab him by the ankle. The Hyuuga reacted instantly, his arms moving in a large blur too fast to follow with regular eyes. Since Masaru had the Sharingan, he clearly saw Neji strike one of the wrists.

The hand went limp around his ankle and the other wrist quickly receded just before Neji could hit it, narrowly avoiding his fingertips before disappearing underground, and the Hyuuga quickly jumped away. Moments later the black-haired Rain genin emerged with a gasp, one of his arms hanging limply at his side. Before he could react further Neji surged forward and struck him again, jabbing various points on his body.

He hit Nao's knees and his legs gave away, collapsing to the ground in a jumbled heap of awkwardly splayed limbs, and Genma called the match.

"Woah, that was pretty cool," Chouji commented, while Masaru _definitely_ heard Tenten scream " _YEAH! WAY TO GO NEJI!_ "

"Great, now his head is going to be even _bigger_ ," Kiba groaned, scowling in irritation. "I was kinda hoping he'd get some sense pounded into him."

"Was he that bad?" Chouji asked curiously.

"He kept ranting about fate and destiny," Kiba growled, his eyes flashing maliciously as he glowered at the stoic Hyuuga boy as he walked back to the stands without a second glance at his opponent. "He keeps telling Hinata she's destined to be a failure and all that kind of bullshit. I don't like him."

Medics scurried into the arena to cart the fallen Rain genin away, a Hyuuga present among them to help unblock the tenketsu points. "Poor Masuyo," Sakura murmured under her breath, Masaru barely catching it over the roar of the crowd. He flashed her a curious glance, and when she noted it she smiled at him and shrugged. "Ah, don't mind me. It's no big deal." As she spoke her gaze flitted to the Kage's Box where four figures sat.

* * *

"A shame, Masuyo-san," the Kazekage murmured, though his voice held no sympathy. "It appears your village has fallen out of he running for the tournament already." Konan merely hummed in response, her hands folded atop her lap and her face a placid mask as she watched the medics disappear into the building with Nao in tow.

"It is fine. Nao-kun is skilled but still has much to learn, he did well simply to make it this far."

"Masuyo-san, I personally believe that Nao-kun did a fine job," the Hokage interjected next to her, offering her a grandfatherly smile. "Neji-kun is a prodigy within the Hyuuga clan, so defeating him would be quite difficult. More impressively, though, Nao-kun demonstrated an ability to use low-level jutsu in two different nature releases. That is quite a feat for a genin, especially at his age."

Konan turned to him with a pleased smile, nodding in agreement. "Thank you. I was honestly quite surprised as well. Kyouya told me Nao had great potential, but he's shown even more skill than I initially expected."

She smiled as she spoke, a bit of pride seeping into her voice. While Konan had come to the tournament to scope the jichuuriki they suspected to be participating, that did not diminish her role as a representative of Ame. She had great pride in her village, and Nao's performance had left her greatly impressed. If all the genin showed that kind of potential, then they wouldn't need to worry about Ame's future as much.

Next to her Shibuki still seemed a bit uncertain, though. "Ninja might be impressed, but we can't say the same for the nobles," he muttered. "They don't know much about ninja. You might not get as many jobs from this."

"Is that truly so bad though?" the Kazekage mused. "Civilian nobility is quite annoying to deal with anyway. Our own daimyo is dense enough, I imagine foreigners would only be more frustrating."

All of the village leaders fell silent at that, a slight gloom hanging over the box as each one recalled their own experiences dealing with nobility. Whether Kage or jounin, everyone knew how frustrating civilians could be.

They pushed the grim reflections away as they watched the next two fighters enter the arena, scrutinizing them with experienced eyes. One wore a baggy jacket with a high collar and dark glasses, both trademarks of Konoha's Aburame clan. The other, a female, wore a hitai-ate with a music note engraved into it, making Konan's eyes narrow. Oto had only formed within the last year, so very little information existed on it beyond some rumors Sasori's spy rings had picked up suggesting a link to Orochimaru.

"I'm curious about Oto," Shibuki admitted, unknowingly echoing her thoughts. "I haven't heard much about it. I thought the leader would have wanted to attend since one of his genin made it through on their first go."

"I extended an invitation, but the leader declined," the Hokage informed him, frowning slightly. "I was quite surprised. I expected they would desire some publicity."

"Do you know their name?" Konan questioned curiously, and he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Oto is quite secretive."

"Perhaps the leader is simply paranoid," the Kazekage suggested, and turned his head slightly to squint at Konan. "I am certain you know quite a bit about that, Masuyo-san. After all, from what I hear your own village's leader, Hanzou, has grown quite paranoid in recent years."

Hearing the name of the man responsible for Yahiko's death filled Konan with a sharp pang of rage and disgust. Only years of practice in schooling her emotions kept her from physically reacting, closing her eyes and speaking in a carefully neutral tone. "Yes, you are indeed correct. That is why I am present in his stead, after all."

As far as she was concerned, her words were half true. Hanzou had indeed grown deeply paranoid, as seen by his constant guard. He would never agree to personally venture into such a public venue and risk a potential assassination plot.

She just omitted the fact he had perished two months prior at the cold hands of Yahiko's corpse.

"Match, begin!" Genma yelled, and the two genin moved.

* * *

Standing among the other contenders, Hinata felt small and out of place. The Sand Siblings all had such intense auras about them, the Oto kunoichi who beat Kiba in the preliminaries had a confident, cocky smirk... Even Shikamaru, who seemed ready to fall asleep any second, seemed to belong there more than the ever-anxious Hinata.

When watching Neji's match that out of place feeling only amplified, her heart lodging in her throat as she struggled to follow his movements. Despite spending the past month in intensive training, she hardly compared to her prodigious cousin. Her fingers unconsciously reached for the braided bracelet dangling on her right wrist, recognizing the red strand by touch alone due to the wear from how much she traced it.

Shino tapped her shoulder in a silent show of support before descending to the arena for his own match, and just like that Hinata was alone, a weak little mouse in a den of demons. She tried to ignore it, tried to focus on Shino's match, tried to bask in Naruto's warmth and enthusiasm as he began bickering with Sasuke. She found it so hard to focus though, not when she could feel Neji's eyes on her.

Halfway through the match he finally approached her, crossing his arms with a scowl. "Why did you even come here?" he demanded coldly. "Right now you look ready to faint any second. You _clearly_ lack the mental capacity to pass. At this point you'll probably pass out from nerves before you can even fight."

Hinata felt her breath hitch and her stomach churned violently, her mouth fluttering open but unable to form words. Screams echoed in her mind, her body locking up as she remembered the sickening _crack_ of bone shattering beneath her fingertips. Across from her Neji's eyes narrowed, his scowl intensifying. "You're even paler now. You should have stayed home, like I told you."

"Hey, knock it off," Shikamaru interjected nearby, peeking open a single eye to lazily regard Neji with a mild frown. "You're just making her more nervous." Somehow his voice caught the others' attention, the Sand Siblings eying the scene from their peripheral vision while Naruto and Sasuke stopped arguing.

"Hey, what's going on?" Naruto asked, frowning. Before anyone could respond a loud explosion sounded from the arena, and the assembled genin turned to see clouds of dust rising from the field next to a smirking Kin. Shino burst from the cloud and moved to dodge as the kunoichi assaulted him with a wave of senbon, mixing in a couple kunai with explosive tags wrapped around the handles.

Clearly, the Sound kunoichi had realized that senbon alone would not be nearly enough to defeat Shino, because while she certainly had the precision to strike the tiny insects midair, she would quickly run out in the face of their overwhelming numbers. More explosions rocked the field as the kunai detonated, Shino getting nicked by a few blades but always managing to get clear before the tags could detonate.

The battle proved a suitable distraction for the genin, their attention now turned away from Hinata. Sasuke grunted, clearly unimpressed by what he saw. "Her grip on those kunai is clumsy. She's obviously not used to it."

Nearby Temari snorted and rolled her eyes. "Amateur," she grumbled to herself. "If you're going to learn something new for the finals, you should at least make sure you're halfway decent with it."

"Look closer at the ground," Shikamaru drawled, and the other genin all paused, leaning forward and squinting. Long lines of silver stretched across the arena in a shimmery web, wires glittering in the sunlight as they trailed behind senbon before falling limply to the ground and getting obscured by another cloud of dust.

Hinata's eyes widened in comprehension of the strategy. While she and the other genin could see the wires from their higher elevation, Shino would be much less likly to notice them due to his close proximity. Her hand tightened over her chest as her eyes trailed towards her teammate, gnawing on her lower lip in worry. _Please, Shino, be careful!_

However, to her horror, when Kin revealed her trap and pulled the wires taut to create a deadly web they right sliced through Shino. For half a second her body stilled with horror, the world seeming to freeze, only for her breath to rush out in a gasp of relief when Shino's body to dissolve into a swarm of insects.

The _real_ Shino emerged from one of the trees, lunging at the still-stunned Kin from behind while the swarm that had formed the insect clone sailed towards her from the front. Panicked, the kunoichi started to move to the side to dodge only to wince as her thigh cut into one of the raised wires, her own trap turned against her.

She had no time to react before both Shino and his swarm descended upon her, the insects draining her of chakra. Her struggles to escape proved futile and soon enough Genma called the match in the Aburame's favor. Hinata felt her body droop with relief as her teammate mounted the steps to join them, stepping forward to greet him with a small smile. "You did a good job, Shino-kun," she told him, and he nodded in recognition of her compliment.

Her good mood swiftly vanished when she heard Neji audibly scoff though, making her flinch and quickly lower her gaze to her feet with a small frown. While she grew lost in her thoughts one of the Sand genin—Kankurou?—descended with some cocky parting words to his sister. The Waterfall kunoichi followed suit, vaulting over the railing to flip onto the field and grinning at him proudly.

"Get ready, cutie!" the green-haired girl declared loudly, her booming voice carrying clearly around the arena. "I, Tsukino Midori, shall defeat you today and bring honor to Taki!"

Kankurou just snorted, smirking at her cockily. "In your dreams. I'm the one who's gonna win!"

As the two began exchanging more trash talk Hinata paid them no attention, all the surrounding noise slowly drowned out by her own thoughts. Her fingers absently traced the braided bracelet dangling on her wrist, her heart pounding in her chest anxiously. Midori... She seemed so confident, so sure of herself, while Hinata just—just _didn't_. She didn't even _know_ Midori, and yet she felt herself envying the girl's confidence.

A hand lightly touched her shoulder, making her jump with a loud squeak. She whirled to see her teammate looking at her, quickly retracting his hand. "Hinata?" Shino asked, a small modicum of concern evident in his otherwise flat voice. "You seem very anxious and stressed. Are you alright?"

Swallowing heavily, she shook her head and forced herself to speak, her voice fighting to claw its way out of her too-dry throat. "N-no, I'm... I-I'm..." Trembling, she sucked in a deep breath and dropped her torso into a bow. "I need to go, I'll be back soon!" Without giving him a chance to respond she took off running, ignoring the startled call from Naruto as she fled through the door.

 _I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!_

* * *

In the stands Kiba stretched his arms above his head, thoroughly bored by the fight unfolding in the arena. Watching Shino beat Kin to the ground had left him with a strong sense of satisfaction as well as a renewed burst of energy, but all this trash talking just felt so _lame_ after that.

"Screw it, I'm going for a walk," he declared, getting up. Akamaru immediately hopped off Masaru's lap to join his partner, yipping and wagging his tail eagerly.

"Really?" Sakura looked at him in surprise, leaning forward to look at him from Masaru's other side. "Don't you want to see how this turns out?"

"Nah, not really," Kiba replied with a dismissive shrug. "Not like either of them are ours, right?"

"I'll go too," Chouji volunteered, crinkling his chip bag and stuffing it in his pocket. "I just finished the chips so I wanna get some more from the concession stand."

Ino visibly perked up at this, leaning forward slightly to gaze at Masaru with a coy smile. Her eyes shifted between him and Kiba's now-empty seat, gears visibly turning in her head, and the Uchiha boy instantly paled and jumped to his feet. "I, uh, need to go to the bathroom," he stammered, and Kiba snorted and rolled his eyes. _Clearly_ he just didn't want to risk Ino stealing his seat while he was gone, but the Inuzuka decided not to comment on it.

"Just make sure you guys get back before the next match," Sakura interjected. "That's when Naruto and Hinata fight." Kiba immediately huffed and shot her an annoyed look, irritated she felt a need to remind him at all.

"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm gonna miss Hinata's match!" He hadn't seen Hinata much over the past month, as she'd been busy training with her clan every day. Even so, he _knew_ she'd need the moral support. After being on a team with her for five months, he knew better than anyone how timid Hinata could be. While he might not be able to talk to her in person, he could at least root for her from the stands.

Turning away from the pink-haired girl, he said to the other boys, "Let's go." Chouji and Masaru nodded and the trio filed out of the row, heading up the aisle to enter the halls of the stadium. As they made their way towards a flight of stairs to reach the first floor Masaru glanced down the hall.

"There are bathrooms that way, right?" he asked, and Kiba shot him a skeptical look.

"Yeah, I think so. Smell kinda bad though, first floor bathrooms might be better." He wrinkled his nose as he spoke, a bit disgusted by the odor wafting down the hall, and felt no small amount of relief that it left his range once they started descending the stairs. "Wasn't that an excuse to get away from Ino though?"

"I might hide there for a while just in case," Masaru responded blandly. Chouji stepped over and gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat, a bit awkward considering he stood one step below the other boy.

"You really need to work on your people skills, dude."

"I know," the Uchiha groaned, sagging dejectedly. Kiba snorted, but before he could comment further a familiar aroma suddenly caught his attention. Lilac scented shampoo and lavender body soap drifted faintly from the doorway, almost drowned out by the other scents that had flooded the halls. _Hinata?_

Jumping down the last few steps, he sniffed the air and glanced to Akamaru to find him looking at him pointedly, confirming he smelled it too. Why would Hinata be here though? The contestants wouldn't need to go through this area, like, ever. The only thing here were the concession stands... and the front door.

Face darkening as realization settled over him, Kiba turned and began following the scent, Akamaru dutifully trotting behind him with his nose pressed to the floor. "Kiba, the concession stand is this way," Chouji called. He just grunted in response, raising a hand to wave him off without looking back.

"You guys go ahead," he said dismissively. "We need to check something out." The other boys watched him depart with perplexed looks, and after exchanging a confused glance they shrugged, each reaching their own decision. Masaru quickly jogged after Kiba while Chouji turned and continued his solitary walk to the concession stand the opposite way.

* * *

Elsewhere in the stadium, two men lay sprawled on the floor of a janitor's closet in nothing but their underwear, their eyes glazed as they stared at the ceiling in a trance-like state. They paid no mind to the cloaked ANBU operative crouching next to them, too lost in their trances to notice even the chill in the room. Dark eyes narrowed behind the white hawk mask as the man recognized the effects of a heavy genjutsu, and he started to reach towards them to wake them from it only to hesitate.

Slowly retracting his arm, he turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder, rising to his full height as he did. An ever familiar silver-haired man stood behind him, his single visible eye narrowed as he surveyed the scene before. "Well, this is a surprise," Kakashi quipped dryly, and the ANBU turned to face him more fully with a small dip of the head to show respect to the former ANBU captain.

"I found these two during my patrols. I recognize them from headquarters, but I do not know their names or codenames. I believe that someone took their uniforms and is using them to infiltrate the stadium." Kakashi hummed in thought, glancing between the agent and the two semi-conscious people on the ground. He reached for his hitai-ate and lifted it to expose his Sharingan, studying them critically.

"This doesn't look like it's just a genjutsu, their breathing is too shallow. Their scents are a bit off, too," he added after giving a brief sniff. "I'm guessing they have some drugs in their systems."

"I'll inform Lord Hokage," the ANBU declared, heading for the door even as he spoke.

"Not so fast, Hawk-san," Kakashi drawled, making him pause. The Copy-nin eyed his mask, his posture lazy and relaxed like usual but his gaze sharp and scrutinizing. "Funny thing, that. Last I checked, there is only one agent with that specific mask model since it got retired two years ago, and right now I know for a fact he's busy patrolling the arena."

A brief silence descended over the room as the two stood there, staring each other down. Then Kakashi huffed a small sigh and lowered his hitai-ate over his eye, casually turning away. "Well, I say that, but I think we have more important things to worry about right now. So we'll have to save this conversation for another time. Maybe tomorrow, if we're both free." With those parting words he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the "ANBU" standing alone in stiff surprise.

After a long moment he turned and darted through the door, mind racing with the implications of this encounter.


	34. Chapter 33: No Calm Before Storms

**ATTENTION RETURNING READERS!**

 **After much experimentation, I have updated the Prologue. I highly recommend you go back and read it!**

Some of you may have read the first draft back when I first posted a link to it on my DeviantArt stash. This has been in the works since at LEAST Chapter 15, because the original version is just a bit... boring. However, despite how eye-catching I think the new one is, I've been wavering on whether it might be a bit _too_ grand, not to mention I wasn't 100% sure how to tie it into canon. But recently I finally got a BRILLIANT idea, and it's given me the final push on figuring out how to incorporate it. So be sure to go back to read it if you haven't.

Anyways, with that said, please enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 33

* * *

"They say there's a calm before the storm. Sometimes, though, there is no calm. Just a bunch of howling winds building up to something worse."

* * *

 _I can't... I can't!_

Hinata raced through the halls with pained gasps, her heart catching in her throat as her eyes burned with unshed tears. Bursting into an empty bathroom, she darted into a stall and slammed the door shut, hugging herself as she allowed a shaky sob to escape.

In the end, she couldn't do it. She just _couldn't do it_. She couldn't fight Naruto, she couldn't fight in front of all those people from all over the world, she couldn't do _anything_. Neji had been right, she _still_ heard her opponent's scream, _still_ felt sickened whenever she thought of that horrible, blood-chilling _crack_. Hinata had no place in the tournament, she didn't have the mental capacity to become a chuunin yet. She might _never_ have the capacity for it.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She buried her face into her arms as she began quietly apologizing under her breath, shrinking in shame even when all alone. Even now she could picture her father's disapproving glare when he learned she gave into nerves before the match, the clan's elders' stern voices echoing in her mind. The mere thought of their cold, disdainful gazes made her shudder, biting back a distressed whimper as she trembled violently.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Hinata squealed in surprise and jumped almost a foot in the air, spinning to stare at the stall door in shock. During her small breakdown she'd forgotten to actually lock it, and now a brown-haired girl peered through the open crack with a worried expression. "Sorry, but, I thought I heard crying and you look kinda upset?"

Too stunned to reply, Hinata stumbled back and folded her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. "I'm f-fine," she forced out, and a long moment of silence passed.

"You don't sound fine?" the other girl ventured with an uncertain frown, and Hinata winced before averting her gaze shamefully. Not only had she run away, but she'd lost her composure in front of a total stranger. Her family would be disgusted with her if they found out. Already she could hear the scolding lectures from the elders about how shinobi didn't cry, how noble ladies must always act proper and behaved in public—

"Onee-san?"

And then Hinata's entire world shattered, stepping back with a startled squeak as her younger sister suddenly peered through the crack. "H-Hanabi?" she stammered. "W-what—"

"I was going to the concession stand and saw you run in here. Why are you so upset?" Hinata couldn't respond, only able to stare at her sister in muted horror.

"Ah, I should, uh, probably go," the stranger murmured awkwardly, and quickly retreated from the scene. The sisters paid her no mind, Hinata too focused on Hanabi's presence.. Not only had she run away and lost her composure in front of a stranger, but now she'd shown weakness in front of her younger sister, too.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata whispered, averting her gaze. Her younger sister regarded her with a worried frown, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Onee-san, why are you so upset? Did something happen?"

"I-I... Th-that is..." Hinata trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Wringing the hem of her sweatshirt, she let her gaze flicker to the braided bracelet peeking out from beneath her sleeve, seeking the comfort of the memories it brought—

Hinata froze, her head snapping up with wide eyes. Shoving the door open, she raced out of the bathroom past a confused Hanabi, her Byakugan activating as she ran down the halls.

* * *

A loud roar rose from the stands as the latest match ended. Kankurou had soundly defeated his opponent with his puppet, successfully maneuvering it capture her and hold a blade to her throat. Ultimately he forced her to forfeit lest she lose her head, and while Midori had been left conscious and largely intact, the Waterfall kunoichi did not accept defeat with grace.

"DAMMIT! I'M A GIANT FAILURE!"

The spectators watched with varying degrees of bemusement as Midori wailed in despair, her earlier childish confidence replaced with an even more childish temper tantrum. Her screech echoed clearly around the stadium and made many of the audience members wince, and with an extra loud sob she took off running to the exit. As she raced off the field the Kazekage clucked his tongue in disapproval.

"That is quite the immature display," he remarked. "It does not leave a very good impression."

"It's... not," Shibuki sighed, and rose from his seat. "I should go find her, Midori-chan likes to act tough but she's actually quite sensitive."

"Of course, we perfectly understand," Hiruzen replied. Personally he felt it quite commendable that Shibuki would be willing to seek out one of his genin to offer comfort, in fact he almost envied him for the ability to do so. Konoha had too many ninja for him to personally tend to all of them like Shibuki; that was one of the advantages a small village like Taki had over his. A small advantage, but one which should not be taken for granted.

"Good luck, Shibuki-san," Masuyo told him with a kind smile. "Please tell her she did perfectly fine."

"Ah, y-yes, I will," he stammered, his cheeks flushing a bit. Hiruzen chuckled slightly as the young village leader scurried off, his guard trailing behind him silently. Funnily enough, Aomine Shintoki seemed far more comfortable among foreign shinobi than his village's leader, but then, he had more experience. Shibuki was still young, and Hiruzen could see vast potential in the young man once he got over his nerves.

"Since your village is out of the running, will you leave too, Masuyo?" the Kazekage asked, drawing his attention back to the others still in the stand. The Ame representative shook her head slightly, her sapphire eyes flitting to the arena.

"I would prefer to stay and watch. I find these matches quite educational."

"Very well, then," the Kazekage murmured, turning his attention back to the arena. While Kankurou had departed to rejoin the other contenders Genma stood on the field alone, and about a minute passed before someone else descended onto the field. However, it wasn't the blinding speck of orange Hiruzen had expected.

"Isn't that the Aburame boy from the previous match?" Masuyo asked, squinting at the figure.

"It is," Hiruzen confirmed lowly, frowning as he watched Shino join Genma. Eyes narrowing, he raised a hand to signal one of his ANBU guards, silently communicating a series of commands. The masked man nodded and disappeared in a flicker of movement to join the two on the field, while the crowd began to buzz impatiently as they watched the trio speak. Soon enough the ANBU agent nodded and he flickered away, reappearing behind Hiruzen.

"Sir, it appears that Hyuuga Hinata left the finalists' stand during the previous match and has not returned," he reported. "Moreover, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke have also left to look for her, and are still gone." Hiruzen stilled at this information, his mouth forming a grim line. Given Hinata's timid personality he doubted she had left for something as simple as the bathroom; most likely Neji had said something that rattled her and she'd given into her nerves and fled.

"Tell Genma to move up the next match," he commanded, and the guard nodded before vanishing to relay his orders.

"You're not going to call a draw?" the Kazekage asked curiously.

"Normally I would, but there are certain... external factors at play," Hiruzen replied, choosing his words carefully. Specifically, the other contender for the match happened to be Naruto, and he didn't want to deprive the youth of an opportunity to properly display his abilities. Kami knows felt bad enough for the boy after the fiasco in the preliminaries, and Naruto had spent the past month training hard with Jiraiya just for the tournament.

Hiruzen could justify his decision to delay the match as more than just sentimentality for the boy. As the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Naruto's development happened to be of critical interest to Konoha. Given his busy schedule, Hiruzen probably wouldn't get another chance to see the fruits of the boy's hard work for some time. Even the Council had expressed interest in seeing his progress during the finals. Not to mention, the crowd would only incite him to try even harder.

Letting Naruto lose this opportunity would be too wasteful for Konoha.

* * *

Elsewhere in the stadium, anyone (un?)fortunate enough to be in the halls were greeted by a strange sight.

Orange flooded the space as an army of Naruto clones scattered about, people jumping out of their path with startled cries. The long line in front of the concession stand broke apart to make way for the sudden surge of identical blonds to flood past, the customers grumbling in shock and annoyance.

"Hi Naruto," Chouji greeted one of the clones, standing next to the counter with a new bag of chips. The sight of an army of Narutos admittedly felt a bit unsettling, but he'd grown kind of used to the blond's antics. The clone skidded to a stop and turned to face him, its eyes wild and manic.

"Chouji, have you seen Hinata-chan?" he asked, and the Akimichi frowned and shook his head.

"Nope, sorry. What's going on?"

"I don't know! She just suddenly ran off! I think it had to do with that bastard Neji saying something to her during Shino's match. I don't know what it was because I was busy arguing with Sasuke-teme about who's better, but she ran off a little bit after the last match began and never came back! If I don't find her before this match ends, she'll have to forfeit!"

Chouji blinked as the ramble ended, taking a second to process the overflow of information. "Huh. Maybe that's why Kiba ran off."

"Kiba?" A trio of Naruto clones stopped as they overheard this latest bit, leaving four pairs of blue eyes studying Chouji intently.

"Yeah. He, me and Masaru all left to grab snacks about ten minutes ago, but Kiba said he had to check something out and headed the other way so Masaru followed him."

The Narutos all hummed in unison, their faces screwed in thought. Kiba had a nose like a dog, and he also had Akamaru—an _actual_ dog. If anyone could find Hinata, it'd probably be them. The clones bobbed their heads almost in perfect unison, flashing Chouji a series of bright grins. "Right, got it! Thanks Chouji!"

One of them dispersed to transmit the information to the rest, and the army halted for half a second before resuming their search in a renewed frenzy, shouts for Kiba now mingling with the calls for Hinata.

"Come on, teme, we need to find Hinata-chan or Kiba!" the real Naruto declared hotly, dragging a rather annoyed-looking Sasuke behind him.

"When the hell did Kiba come into this?" he grumbled, trying to jerk his arm free from Naruto's grip. Upon realizing Hinata probably wouldn't return on her own, Naruto had dragged his teammate to help search for her, reasoning two pairs of eyes would be better than one. Granted, the clones kind of negated that, but still, it was the principle of the thing!

"Kiba has a good nose and also has Akamaru, and they both know Hinata-chan's scent so they could help us find her!" Sasuke growled in annoyance, clearly unhappy about it, but naturally Naruto ignored him. One of Naruto's clones slowed down to jog beside them, shooting Sasuke a sleazy-looking grin.

"Chouji said Masaru's with him," he told him coyly, knowing full well just how much Sasuke cared for his cousin. The Uchiha's face flickered with surprise before swiftly returning to his normal irritable scowl, scoffing loudly.

"Fine, we'll look for them," he muttered, and Naruto and his clone beamed and high-fived each other. Teamwork!

Elsewhere in the stadium, Kiba and Masaru abruptly stopped and turned to look over their shoulders as they heard a loud din of echoing voices steadily approaching them, their features scrunching in confusion. Akamaru whimpered slightly and moved closer to his partner, the hair on his back rising as he stared down the hall apprehensively.

"The hell?" Kiba muttered as the noise grew nearer, eyes scrunching in confusion. It sounded like a bunch of people talking at once, except everyone had the same voice...?

A flood of orange poured around the corner, several Narutos skidding into sight before zeroing in on the two genin. Their eyes all lit up with manic energy, everything about them screaming some sort of frantic urgency.

"KIBA!" they screamed in unison, the shrill chorus making the ever-sensitive Inuzuka wince. Akamaru yelped and barely had time to jump into Masaru's arms before the stampede of clones descended upon them, squishing the two boys against the wall. They began yelling and shouting at Kiba desperately, their voices overlapping and blending into a bizarre jumbled sentence. "KIBA HINATA'S MISSING AND _THE MATCH IS SOON_ NEED HELP AND _THAT BASTARD NEJI SAID_ FIND HER _KIBA_ KIBA _KIBA_!"

Faced with a dozen Narutos screaming in his face, Kiba whimpered and slid to the floor, his hands flying to shield his ever-sensitive ears. " _Dammit, shut up!_ " he snapped. "You're gonna make me go deaf Naruto!" He couldn't even hear himself over the noise, but apparently the clones did as they instantly fell silent. A series of pops filled the air as several of them dispersed, leaving only one who wisely made no move to talk.

As the smoke cleared the original Naruto burst through it, naturally with Sasuke in tow. "Guys, we need to find Hinata!" he yelled frantically, and Kiba had to resist the urge to _scream_.

"What's even going on anymore?" Masaru mumbled, still a bit dazed by the giant deluge of Naruto clones.

"Hinata ran off during the last match," Sasuke explained. "Naruto decided to look for her and dragged me along for some reason."

"Hey, teams stick together, right?" Naruto retorted, and ignored the cold glare Sasuke shot him. Shaking his head, Kiba got to his feet and sniffed the air before scowling.

"Dammit Naruto, get all of your dumb clones to go away! They're leaving a bunch of scent trails everywhere and it's making it harder to pick out Hinata!" Startled by the outburst, Naruto nodded and the last clone popped, spreading the message to the rest. Kiba just groaned quietly, massaging the bridge of his nose. "Damn. I had her scent but now it's all muddled. Akamaru, can you still smell it buddy?"

Akamaru jumped out of Masaru's arms and sniffed the ground eagerly, grunting in concentration before sharply raising his head to growl at something behind them. Surprised, the group of genin turned to find two cloaked ANBU agents. "What's all the commotion?" one asked, prompting Naruto to babble a rambled summary of the situation once more.

"Have you seen her?" he asked when he finished, finally taking a breath.

"No, we haven't," the other ANBU replied, shaking his head. "However, there are more pressing matters at hand. Uchiha-san, we need you— _both_ of you—to come with us." The four boys instantly stiffened, Naruto and Kiba turning to look at the Uchiha cousins. Masaru seemed startled by the sudden order, but Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes at the ANBU.

"What for?" he asked warily.

"We cannot explain here, but the Hokage believes your safety is at risk. Please follow us and we'll explain." The two ANBU gestured for them to follow, and the cousins exchanged hesitant glances before slowly nodding. If the Hokage had ordered them to come, then there must be _something_ happening, right?

"We'll see you guys later, I guess?" Masaru mumbled with an uncertain glance at the others.

"Just find Hinata already," Sasuke grunted as they started following the ANBU. "We'll catch up before my match."

"Yeah, I guess," Kiba muttered, and turned to look at Naruto. "Come on, if we hurry we might find her scent—" He stopped mid-sentence when Akamaru suddenly lunged at one of the ANBU with a furious howl, his jaws opening wide to reveal his teeth. The man glanced over his shoulder before jumping out of the way, narrowly avoiding the barreling ball of fluff.

Skidding along the floor, Akamaru spun around and began barking ferociously at the two ANBU, his teeth bared in a threatening snarl. The sudden hostility caught the genin off-guard, Sasuke and Masaru stopping and jumping back with startled looks. "What the hell?" Naruto stammered, staring at the dog in confusion. "Kiba, what's gotten into—" He stopped mid-sentence when he turned to the Inuzuka to find him staring at the ANBU with a sudden glare, his lips pulling back into a ferocious snarl.

" _Sasuke! Masaru! Get away from them!_ " he yelled, and the Uchiha boys snapped shocked looks at him before quickly leaping backwards. However, they didn't move fast enough, as one of the ANBU surged forward and grabbed each one by the arm while they still hovered midair. They winced as his fingers tightened in a vice-like grip and with a harsh tug he flung them to the floor, the pair crashing with pained yells.

Even as he did that, the other one lurched around him to race towards Naruto and Kiba, sending kunai flying towards them. Instinct kicked in and the two boys rolled to the side to avoid the projectiles, but in a flash the man appeared behind Kiba and grabbed him by the throat. He harshly slammed the genin into the wall behind them face-first before releasing his grip, and the Inuzuka slid to his knees with a pained gasp, coughing clear fluid.

Akamaru shrieked with rage and flew at the man, his whole body radiating hatred and fury for hurting his partner, but the man spun around and thrust his palm into the ninken's chest, sending him flying back with a pained yelp. Immediately afterwards he spun around and hit Kiba in the back of the neck, sending the boy fluttering to the ground unconscious.

"And here we hoped to do this quietly," the fake ANBU grumbled, turning and lunging at Naruto. The blond yelped and ran away, quickly flying through the seals for the multi-shadow clone jutsu. While a horde of clones appeared to try to help defend him Sasuke and Masaru found themselves rolling away from a harsh kick from the other ANBU, leaping to their feet. Sasuke gritted his teeth as his hand hovered over his side, wincing in pain.

 _Shit, my ribs...!_ The force of the impact had been incredibly harsh, knocking the air out of him, and he knew his skin would undoubtedly be bruised. Next to him Masaru looked no better, grimacing as his weight shifted slightly to favor the left leg, as the right side of his hip had taken the brunt of the fall. However, even so he pulled a pair of thick black gloves from his pockets and swiftly tugged them on, his face filled with resolve.

The two exchanged looks and nodded, their eyes instantly swirling to red as they turned to face their opponent. The man launched towards them with a flurry of hand seals they didn't recognize, prompting them to quickly retreat. When the last sign finished he clapped his hands and a heavy shockwave resonated from them, knocking the boys off their feet. This time they could prepare themselves and rolled as they fell, each landing in a crouch and flinging a flurry of shuriken at the fake ANBU.

The second the shuriken left his hands Masaru sped through a series of hand seals and blew a small fireball just slightly larger than his fist, swiping his hands through it the second the last ember left his lips. The fireball split and clung to each hand to coat them in a small fiery inferno and he surged towards their opponent with a ferocious yell, the flames stretching along his fingers like claws. While he charged Sasuke swiftly threw more shuriken his way, limiting their opponent's options for avoiding Masaru.

However, the man pulled out a kunai almost too fast for even the Sharingan to follow and used it to expertly deflect a majority of the shuriken. He purposely allowed one to graze his side to give himself an opening to hurl his kunai directly at Masaru's head, forcing the boy to abort his attack to dodge. Even as he did so the man zoomed forward and swung his leg at Masaru's right hip, the impact making him shriek in pain.

" _MASARU!_ " Naruto screamed, and half the clone horde whirled around with furious roars as they watched Masaru crash to the floor. His own opponent took advantage of his momentary distraction and swiftly cut through the clones with chakra-coated hands, each dispersing in a puff of smoke that quickly filled the hall. The real Naruto barely managed to avoid getting struck, wincing as he felt his last clone pop. Not good.

" _Suiton: Water Bullet!_ " A large geyser of water suddenly burst through the smoke, blasting Naruto's opponent in the back and sending him hurtling towards the Uchiha boys. The man fighting them glanced his way and then dodged to the side, allowing his comrade to crash into the wall behind him and slump to the floor. The three conscious genin watched in mild shock before whipping around to look at the newest arrival, kunai already in their hands.

The smoke cleared enough to reveal a man with long brown hair and blue clothing running their way followed by another with tanned skin and dark hair, both wearing a hitai-ate bearing a stylized waterfall on it. Sasuke and Naruto tensed at their approach and raised his kunai in anticipation of an attack, but Masaru immediately brightened and sat up.

"Shibuki-san! Shintoki-san!" he called, relief evident in his voice even as he winced in pain. The tanned one—Shintoki—flew through a sequence of seals and spewed another blast of water at the men, blasting the one who'd slammed against the wall while the other dodged. Naruto took advantage of their distraction to quickly lunge across the hall to grab Kiba and rejoined the Uchiha boys just as Shibuki skidded to a halt.

"Are you guys okay?" he asked breathlessly.

"Who the hell are you!?" Naruto sputtered. "Who the hell are _they_!? What's going on!?"

"Ah, th-that's..." Shibuki trailed off, looking a bit uncertain. "Actually, I'm not really, uh, sure...?"

"Are you _kidding_!?" Naruto exploded, looking ready to scream in frustration. Before Shibuki could respond wooden spikes suddenly sprouted from the ceiling and floor behind them, impaling the two faux-ANBU. The three conscious genin jumped away with startled yells, instantly falling into defensive stances.

"Mokuton!" Masaru gasped, staring at the wooden constructs wide-eyed. Their former assailants moaned in pain as they struggled against the spikes, blood seeping down the natural grain pattern of the wood.

"Ah, yeah, mokuton," a new voice confirmed somewhat lamely, and they spun around yet again to see Gaku approaching from the opposite direction with a rather sheepish look. His face quickly grew more serious as he turned to the Waterfall ninja though, nodding at them. "Shibuki-san, Shintoki-san, thank you for your assistance."

"Ah, n-no problem, Tenzo-san," Shibuki told him with a nod, looking a bit relieved by his arrival.

"What the... _Gaku!?_ " Sasuke sputtered, his eyes wide with disbelief as he recognized him. Next to him Masaru just looked totally lost, his brain ready to shut down from the overload of information.

"Tenzo?" he repeated weakly, and his teacher turned to glance at him with a sigh.

"I'll explain later. Right now though, we have more important things to worry about." Even as he spoke two ANBU appeared, swiftly approaching the imposters with ropes and shackles. Upon receiving a nod from them, Gaku—or, Tenzo? _What?_ —flashed through a series of hand seals, and the wooden spikes retracted. The ensnared ninja never had a chance to hit the floor, the ANBU grabbing them as they fell and swiftly restraining their arms behind their backs.

While one of them started checking out the prisoners the other turned and strutted to the genin, gesturing towards Kiba. "Let me see him," she ordered. Naruto hesitated to let the unknown woman get close, and after a moment the ANBU huffed impatiently and gently pushed him aside so she could kneel next to the unconscious Inuzuka. Pressing her fingers against his neck, green chakra began to pulse around them and within seconds Kiba gave a soft moan, his eyelids fluttering open.

"Wuzzah... wha..." Akamaru yipped and bounded towards his partner, circling him to sniff him for blood while whining worriedly. Kiba paid him little mind, groaning as he sat up and rubbing the back of his neck with a mild grimace. "The hell...?"

"Okay, seriously, what the hell is even going on anymore!?" Naruto growled. "First two ANBU try to take Sasuke and Masaru, then they attack us, and now Waterfall guys show up out of no where and Gaku is apparently _Tenzo_ or _something_ and-and, just— _what the hell!?_ " The sheer insanity of the past three minutes left him at a near loss for words, incapable of expressing just how confused he felt.

"Sensei...?" Masaru whispered, turning to look at the man who'd taught him the past five months. Gaku/Tenzo/ _who-the-hell_ sighed and scratched the back of his neck, a thoughtful frown on his face.

"I don't know all the details yet, but given the current circumstances I think it's safe to assume something is seriously wrong."

"That might be an understatement," a new voice interjected, and they turned again to see another familiar face approaching. This one made them _all_ sag in relief, Sasuke and Naruto in particular relaxing.

"Kakashi," Sasuke sighed, and the silver-haired jounin nodded at him before turning back to Gaku.

"Tenzo," he started, basically confirming that to be his actual name, "I need you to guard all the genin. Something's about to go down."

"Understood," he replied with a nod.

"Is this related to the unconscious men in the closet down the hall?" Shintoki asked, prompting most of the genin leveled sharp, suspicious looks on him. Only Masaru remained calm, watching him with a more appraising gaze than his year mates. He had become loosely acquainted with the sensor during the trip back to Konoha with Shibuki, and knew first-hand his sensory abilities could easily detect a couple of unconscious people. Most likely that had been how he and Shibuki had known to come to their rescue.

Kakashi seemed to reach the same conclusion, because while his posture remained a bit stiff and on edge, he didn't radiate any hostile intent towards the Waterfall ninja. "In part, yes," he allowed with a nod. "If you knew about it earlier, we would have appreciated the warning though."

"Sorry, I noticed only when I did a sweep of the area after stumbling on _this_ mess." He made a large sweeping motion towards the genin and faux ANBU. Kakashi eyed the scene and nodded briefly.

"Fair enough." As they spoke Masaru took an opportunity glance at his fellow genin and assess their states. Kiba still looked dazed and Naruto still looked understandably bewildered, while Sasuke just remained on edge, kunai in hand. Their eyes met and his cousin frowned, his eyebrows pinching together. A silent understanding passed between them and the two Uchiha slowly relaxed their stances and put away their kunai, only for Sasuke to wince and grab at his side.

The ANBU who'd tended to Kiba appeared next to him almost instantly, prying his hands away to place her own against it. Healing chakra swiftly flooded into his body, and the rigidness faded from Sasuke's shoulders as the ache faded away. "Your ribs weren't broken, but they were close," she told him as she lifted her hands. "You got lucky, kid. Anyone else need some help?"

The others instantly leveled a pointed look at Masaru, who wilted and looked a bit sheepish. "My... hip could use some help," he admitted, and the ANBU promptly went to work on it.

"Can you give us a summary of the situation?" Sasuke asked his teacher as she set to work, and Kakashi sighed.

"It's a bit complicated, but—"

Before he could finish a giant explosion rocked the stadium, the still-shaken genin nearly falling in the ensuing vibrations. Instantly their heads snapped to the wall separating them from the stands, their faces growing grim.

"What was that?" Naruto whispered, and Kiba growled, his nose twitching.

"I smell smoke... and blood. Lots of it." The other genin grimaced at the description, their stomach growing tighter with dread. Exchanging pointed looks, the small gathering reached a mutual decision and took off running for the nearest door, bursting into the arena.

Utter chaos greeted the small group when they entered the stands. Smoke rose from the center of the arena as three figures engaged in a deadly battle, while a majority of the audience slumped in their seats unconscious. Kunai and shuriken whizzed through the air as shinobi clashed, the familiar green of the jounin vests colliding with gray and tan blurs. With the Sharingan still active Sasuke and Masaru could see the enemy forces clear enough to recognize music notes and hourglasses on their hitai-ate, making their eyes widen in shock.

"They're from Suna and Oto," Sasuke reported grimly, and Kakashi growled, reaching into his pouch to retrieve a kunai.

"Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke! Naruto! _Everyone!_ " The group turned to see a familiar blur of pink and red racing their way, weaving under an enemy shinobi's punch and delivering a harsh uppercut to his jaw before darting to them. Another ninja appeared behind her with a long combat knife raised above his head, but Naruto launched himself at the man with an angry roar, kicking him in the face.

While he flew down the steps Sasuke surged forward and threw kunai at him, successfully hitting him in the back. "Sakura, are you okay?" he asked, and their teammate nodded, panting heavily.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just..." She frowned, twisting her head to look at the arena with a frown.

"Sakura, report," Kakashi ordered, and she immediately stiffened before turning to face him once more, her face hardening.

"Approximately two minutes ago, white feathers began falling from the sky. I and Yamanaka Ino immediately detected it as a genjutsu and dispelled it, and fifteen seconds later enemy ninja launched an assault on the crowd. A bomb of some sort detonated in the arena ten seconds later, disrupting the fight. Ino and I rendezvoused with her father, Inoichi-san, and he sent me to find you while he took Ino to break shinobi out of the genjutsu in the audience."

Though she delivered the report in a calm tone, her viridian eyes gleamed with concern and fear, her throat bobbing as she swallowed dryly. "Something else happened," she added grimly, glancing at the Kage box, and the others immediately turned their heads to follow her gaze before stiffening in shock.

A purple barrier had formed atop the roof, the outlines of four figures visible inside the miasma-like material. While they couldn't make out any features through the haze, the battle in the Kage's box narrowed down the options considerably.

" _Lord Hokage,_ " Kakashi hissed, his eye narrowing as he peered at the barrier.

" _Fuck!_ " Shintoki hissed behind them, snagging their attention. The group turned just in time to see a large arm made of sand grab the railing at the bottom of the stairs, a dark figure vaulting over the edge. Everyone instinctively stepped back as the newcomer leveled a cold gaze upon them, lips curling back into a sadistic smirk.

"Uchiha Sasuke, mother still wants your blood," Gaara declared almost gleefully, and then laughed as a tidal wave of sand surged towards them.


	35. Chapter 34: Glimpses of Chaos

Chapter 34

* * *

 _"Few people have ever seen true chaos considering how much we throw that word around. Once you glimpse it with your own eyes, you realize just how overrated that word is."_

* * *

"What the...?"

Konan frowned as she sensed a subtle shift in the air, her eyes flitting upwards. White feathers drifted gently from the sky, twirling and fluttering through the air with an almost ethereal glow. the stadium growing quieter as the cheering crowd began to hush. Her chakra flared on instinct, causing the feathers to disappear, and her eyes narrowed sharply. _Genjutsu._

Instinct prompted her to leap out of her seat and spin around with a kunai in hand just in time to block a blow from a Sand ninja who body-flickered behind her. She sensed another appear behind her and ducked under his punch, swinging a legs at his feet. Next to her Arata leapt on the opening and grabbed the first man's head, smashing his skull into the floor with a concrete-shattering crack.

Seeing the jounin had a handle on the situation, Konan allowed her attention to stray to the rest of the stadium for a moment to assess the situation. A strange hush had fallen over the previously loud stands as the genjutsu blanketed the audience, their cheers silenced as the civilians and weaker-minded or unprepared shinobi fell into a quiet slumber. Already she could hear the distant clashing of metal and startled yells as fighting erupted in the stands.

In the arena itself, the Nara boy paused his own battle to look around in shock and confusion. He'd snagged his opponent into his shadow's hold just moments before the chaos began, and Temari looked eager to break free. Apparently her comrades shared that sentiment, as a man with a turban appeared on the field behind the boy with his hands raised above his head as if holding a sword. Fortunately for him, the proctor quickly intervened, delivering a flurry of senbon to the newcomer's side and forcing him to abort the attack to dodge.

While they fought another Leaf ninja descended upon the field and dropped something towards the edge of the arena before shouting something and disappearing. The others winced and jumped away just before the object exploded, the large blast rocking the stadium. Anyone who had been struggling to fight the genjutsu would certainly be fully alert now, and Konan decided she'd seen enough and quickly turned her attention back to the rest of the box.

The sight that greeted her made her blood run cold.

The "Kazekage" stood with a kunai pressed to the Hokage's throat, his head turned to glare at her. Yellow eyes gleamed darkly beneath the shade of his hat, and Konan instantly realized with a sickening surety that this man was _not_ the Kazekage. "Well, Masuyo-chan, it's been fun but I believe this is where we say goodbye."

Even as he spoke he dragged the Hokage onto the roof, and Konan moved to follow suit only to be stopped by a yell from Arata. "Masuyo-sama, watch out!" She ducked under a wave of kunai as even more Sand and Sound ninja appeared in the box, the newcomers descending upon her with an intense fervor. Konan cursed as she regrouped with her fellow Ame ninja to defend themselves, gritting her teeth.

"I need to get up there," she hissed, and Arata nodded.

"Understood. I'll create an opening." As he spoke he flashed through a series of hand signs and four water clones appeared, each one surging towards their opponents. Konan and Nagato had chosen Arata as her guard for good reason, his skill didn't match up to the Akatsuki by any means but he still had an exceptional record. She felt no qualms in leaving him to fend off the newest wave of enemies, catapulting herself onto the roof without a second thought.

A few managed to break away from Arata and followed her, and as she began fending them away she noted the Kazekage's original "guards" landing on each corner of the roof, flashing through unfamiliar seals. Purple walls emerged around them, enclosing the rooftop in a giant square barrier. Black blurs zoomed towards them in the distance as ANBU agents desperately raced, but the barrier sprouted faster than expected. A pained screamed sounded as one of the ANBU agents collided into the newly formed wall, his body catching fire and falling limply.

One agent managed to make it through before the barrier could fully form though, rolling across the tiles to a halt near Konan's side. Though the white hawk mask was unfamiliar he sent a brief nod her way, and a flash of red flickered through the eye holes. Relief washed over her as she recognized Itachi, pleased to know she wouldn't be alone here. Disguising himself as an ANBU had been a bold choice on his part.

Across from them the "Kazekage" shot the pair a disdainful look, lips pulling into a sneer. "My, my, I was hoping for some one on one time with the _great Hokage_ ," he drawled, serpentine eyes regarding her with a look of utter disdain. "But I suppose having some guests won't be _too_ bad."

Rather than respond Itachi moved to launch kunai at one of the four guards but got intercepted by one of the ninja who'd followed Konan, forcing him to turn his attention away. Frustration visibly rolled off him as he dodged a slash from the man's sword and then blocked a follow-up blow from another one, unable to use his normal fighting style without exposing his identity. As it stood, they happened to be at the center of everyone's attention, the roof far too visible for either Akatsuki to fight to their full abilities without risking exposure.

Konan's eyes narrowed, her mind racing as she turned to survey their primary opponent. The imposter released the Hokage and peeled off his hat and veil with a low chuckle, revealing all-too familiar sickly white skin and long black hair. "Long time no see, _sensei,_ " Orochimaru hissed, smirking at his former teacher, and while Hiruzen regarded him in muted alarm and wariness Konan just mentally cursed at seeing full confirmation.

Externally she remained cool and calm, her expression bland yet appraising as she stared down the Sannin. "Seeing as you are not the Kazekage, should we expect him to appear out of the woodwork in a surprise attack?" she asked dryly, and the traitorous man chuckled lowly, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement.

"Now, now, I can't give away all the surprises, can I, Masuyo- _chan_?" he teased. _Masuyo-chan, not Konan._ His emphasis on the honorific implied more of a jab at his opinion of her ability rather than hinting at knowledge of her true name. _So he doesn't recognize me._

Before Orochimaru defected from the Akatsuki Konan had been careful to avoid him, never forgetting how he'd suggested the Sannin just kill her and her brothers before Jiraiya took them under his wing. That meant that he had minimal knowledge of her abilities, but with his spy ring he may have acquired the necessary information to determine her identity if she used any of her usual paper jutsu. Like Itachi, she, too would have to fight on a controlled basis and avoid showing her full power.

Coincidentally, he'd just taken down his opponents and lurched for the guards maintaining the barrier once more.

"Don't!" the Hokage suddenly barked, and he skidded to a halt, both he and Konan turning to look at him in surprise. The elderly Leaf ninja had already discarded his robes to reveal an armored black bodysuit, his gaze never leaving Orochimaru as he spoke. "Don't break the barrier."

"Lord Hokage?" Konan ventured, frowning. "Why would you say that? As long as the barrier stands, we're trapped!"

"And as long as it stands, this battle will not harm Konoha!" he countered calmly. "I know this is selfish since you will be trapped as well, but as Hokage I have a duty to protect my village. I beg you to leave it intact."

Konan and Itachi quickly glanced to each other, their gazes calculating before they slowly nodded. They moved to flank the Hokage on either side, assuming defensive stances against their mutual opponent. While they had no loyalty to Konoha, the defeat of the traitorous Orochimaru provided more than enough incentive to join the battle.

* * *

The genin rolled out of the aisle and sought cover in the rows of seats with startled yells, narrowly avoiding the crushing wall of sand. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke glanced at his fellow genin, trying to get a sense of the situation. As it stood he could only see into the row across the aisle where Masaru and Naruto had ended up. Mind racing, he decided to risk a brief glance over the top of the seat in front of him.

Gaara steadily mounted the steps in their direction, a crazed gleam in his eye as bloodlust steadily rolled off him. Sasuke swiftly ducked down before the redhead could spot him, glancing at the others wide-eyed. Kakashi had started teaching them hand signs for silent communication, but Naruto had been struggling with them and he didn't know if Masaru had learned any. After some consideration he settled for mouthing, ' _Bad,_ ' and fortunately even Naruto seemed to get the message as he quickly paled.

Gaku—no, Tenzo, appeared in the aisle between them flashing through hand seals and wooden pillars abruptly spiraled from his outstretched arm, ensnaring Gaara. While the Sand genin struggled to break free Kakashi quickly appeared next to Sasuke, grabbing him and flickering into the hallway. Shibuki, Shintoki and the medical ANBU had already arrived to form a small cluster, the other genin standing next to them with startled expressions.

"What the hell is going on?" Kiba hissed, peeking through the door at the chaos unfolding in the stands.

"Something's wrong with him," Sakura whispered, sweat dripping down her face as she joined him in peeking. "That chakra... It feels... _wrong_."

"Of course it does," Shintoki groaned, massaging his forehead. "He's a jinchuuriki." Three sets of confused eyes settled on him, only Masaru and Naruto exempt from the confusion, though Naruto still looked rather stunned.

"Are you kidding me!?" he sputtered. "There's _more_!?"

"What the hell do you mean _more_?" Sasuke asked, squinting at his teammate suspiciously. The blond froze and audibly gulped before falling silent, pointedly looking away from him.

"Now is not the time," Kakashi interrupted, flashing through hand seals and slamming his palm onto the ground. A large puff of smoke appeared, clearing to reveal a small pack of dogs all wearing Konoha hitai-ate. Kiba almost stumbled in surprise, his heart leaping into his throat at the sight of the ninken while Akamaru barked a greeting at his fellow ninken.

For his part, Sasuke just eyed them warily, not forgetting the hell they'd put him and Masaru through during training.

"What's up, boss?" asked a pug sitting on top of a bulldog.

"Konoha is under attack by Oto and Suna. We have a foreign jinchuuriki that can blow any minute and we're going to execute Nine-Ro." The ninken stiffened at the news, their faces swiftly growing serious if a bit pensive as Kakashi continued, "Bisuke, Akino, I need you to go back in the stadium and tell Tenzo. Pakkun, I need you and everyone else to get to the site and prep it."

The five genin behind him looked at the jounin with varying levels of confusion, but the ninken all grew instantly serious and bobbed their heads. "Got it, boss!" Pakkun barked, and the rest of the pack woofed in affirmation before dispersing, two breaking away to head back to the stadium while the rest ran ahead. At this point Kakashi motioned for the frazzled-looking genin to follow him and began running, the group obeying with only minor hesitation.

"Seriously, what the hell is going on?" Kiba growled, shooting the jounin an impatient glare. "The hell's a jinchuuriki!? And what's that Nine-Ro thing you mentioned!?"

"The details of the formation is classified, so I can't explain it here," Kakashi answered, casting a pointed glance at the two Waterfall ninja who had tagged along. "As for your other question, the basic gist is that Gaara has a Tailed Beast sealed inside him."

Nearly half the genin stumbled at the news, their jaws falling open in shock and disbelief. A _Tailed Beast_? Like the _Nine Tails_? Sasuke just stared at him in shock, wondering how that was even possible. Kakashi ignored their surprise, continuing in a brisk tone, "It's too complicated to go into full detail right now, but as far as jinchuuriki go, Gaara's definitely unstable. There's a very good chance that he will lose control and allow the Ichibi to break free."

The genin instantly tensed at his words, their faces darkening as they registered the full severity of the situation. Though all of them had been infants at the time of the Kyuubi's attack, they knew it had caused major damage to the village's infrastructure and that Konoha had spent years recovering from it. Combined with a full-blown invasion by two villages, it may not be able to recover from yet another attack.

"What do we _do_?" Sakura hissed, speeding up her pace to fall in line with her teacher. "We can't fight a _Tailed Beast_! We're only _genin_!" Before Kakashi could respond they heard a loud blast and an inhuman screech followed by Tenzo yelling in alarm. A collective shudder went down their spines and the group unconsciously sped up, all too eager to put some distance between them and Gaara.

"Listen to me carefully," Kakashi told them as they ran. "If Gaara releases the Ichibi here in the middle of Konoha, the amount of damage will be unspeakable. Most likely, he was supposed to let it loose during the match to cause maximum damage as part of the invasion plan, but it appears his desire to fight Sasuke is stronger than that."

" _What?_ " Masaru squeaked, his face draining of color. Sasuke felt similarly sickened by Kakashi's words, even if he didn't show it. He glanced over his shoulder with a frown, almost shuddering as he recalled the inhuman screech they'd heard just seconds ago. Before, he'd thought that he might stand a chance with the Chidori, but after seeing Gaara like _that_ , and hearing all of this...

Could he _really_ handle an opponent like that?

"Then we need to get Sasuke away from here!" Naruto declared hotly, but next to him Sakura abruptly faltered, nearly losing her footing as her eyes widened.

"That's the plan, isn't it?" she whispered, and the other genin slowed slightly to shoot her questioning looks. She ignored them, her hands balling into fists at her side as she glared at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, are you crazy? That's—that's suicide!"

"Sakura? What are you talking about?" For once Sasuke decided to voice his confusion, seeing little point in trying to maintain his usual silence in such a chaotic situation. The pink-haired girl visibly swallowed before turning to look at him, her face scrunched in a mixture of anger and horror.

"He wants to use you as bait," she declared thickly, and at this point all of the other genin came to an abrupt halt as they spun to stare at her in shock. Kakashi stopped and turned to face them, leveling the group with an appraising look before nodding.

"She's correct," he confirmed. "Gaara wants to fight Sasuke, so if we do this right, he'll follow us right into a trap." Everyone stared at him in shock, even Sasuke left with his mouth hanging open in shock. Kakashi turned and resumed running after the two Waterfall ninja, and after a moment the genin moved to follow him. As they continued down the hallway Sasuke noted Naruto and Sakura ran closer to him now, forming a protective ring of sorts.

"Are you crazy!" Kiba snarled, baring his teeth at the jounin's back. "That's—that's freaking suicide!"

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed, bobbing his head. "Sasuke's strong but Gaara's way stronger! Even Gaku or whatever-his-name-is is having trouble with him, and he's a jounin!"

"He's also ANBU," Masaru offered weakly, and Sakura recoiled in horror.

"That's even worse," she croaked, looking nauseous.

Kakashi remained unmoved by their reactions, managing to radiate an unimpressed air without actually turning to look at them. "I know it's scary, but the fact of the matter is that Gaara _will_ cause damage wherever the Ichibi is loosed. Even if we manage to defeat him, Konoha might not be able to recover. Konoha has certain countermeasures prepared for scenarios like this, but we can't perform them here."

"Hatake-san is right," Shibuki confirmed gravely. "At the very least, it's better to get him somewhere isolated before he loses control." All five genin looked sick at the prospect of luring Gaara away, but a loud rumble silenced their protests and prompted the group to skid to a halt. A demented cackle echoed through the halls, and their faces paled even further.

"Shit, that's him!" Kiba hissed, anxiety visible in his face as he stepped back.

"Tenzo has been accosted by enemy forces," Shintoki reported, grimacing as he pinched his eyes shut. "We have approximately three minutes before the jinchuuriki catches up." The others exchanged worried looks at the approximation, and a firm resolve filled Sasuke.

Turning to Kakashi, he stepped forward and asked, "Where do we take him?" The jounin nodded at him in satisfaction and gestured for the group to resume moving. They complied without hesitation, their pace even faster than before now that they knew Gaara would be in pursuit.

"Shibuki-sama, I apologize for being rude, but I need you and Shintoki-san to leave," Kakashi began, and the brown-haired man nodded at him.

"I understand. We'll assist in the evacuation efforts instead."

"Perfect. Thank you." With that the two Waterfall ninja broke off from the group, darting down a different hall.

"Can you tell us the Nine-Ro thing _now_?" Masaru asked anxiously once they left earshot, but Kakashi shook his head.

"That will have to wait, this location is too open. For now, all I can say is that we need to get to the woods in Sector 24." The location meant nothing to most of the genin, but towards the back of the pack recognition flashed in Naruto's eyes, his gaze swiftly casting to the floor as he frowned.

"Dammit, and here I thought today would be awesome," he grumbled. The others could only silently nod their heads in agreement, focused on the task at hand.

* * *

Shikamaru officially hated the Chuunin Exams.

He scowled as he retreated from the arena while Baki engaged with Genma. Temari made no move to follow, instead vaulting over the railing and into the stands to join her puppeteer brother in pursuing... something. Shikamaru recalled seeing a bunch of sand extending from the contender's booth towards the stands from the corner of his eye, and decided it would probably be less troublesome not to think too hard on that.

"No one else here?" he asked as he reached the top step to find only Neji and Shino present.

"No," Shino responded. "Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke failed to return during your battle. Gaara grew increasing impatient about Sasuke's absence and ascended to the stands with the aid of his sand shortly after the genjutsu began. His brother followed immediately after."

"Well, that explains _some_ stuff," Shikamaru grumbled, and turned to Neji. Veins bulged around the Hyuuga's eyes as he stared at a wall, surveying the proceedings with a heavy frown. "Can you tell what's happening out there?"

"My range is limited, but currently I can see Uzumaki, both Uchiha, the Inuzuka and Haruno running down the halls behind Hatake-san. From what I can tell Gaara appears to be in pursuit." Eyes narrowing, he murmured, "Something is wrong with his chakra, it almost... no, not almost. It _looks_ as if he has two chakra systems instead of one, trying to fight for control."

Shikamaru scoffed and massaged his forehead, grumbling under his breath, "Troublesome. This whole thing is so troublesome."

"I believe we are in agreement," Shino concurred flatly. "Do you see Hinata?" Neji scoffed at the question, letting the Byakugan deactivate as he turned to face him.

"No, she is not in the stadium. She most likely fled, which is just as well as she would only be a liability. There is definitely an invasion occurring. There are enemy ninja fighting in the stands, and from what I can see there are battles on the street just outside the arena. We need to move out and help quell the enemy as soon as possible."

"Dammit," Shikamaru muttered, scowling. He'd reached the final stages of his strategy before the interruption so he felt a bit more sore than usual. He _really_ didn't want to spend a ton of chakra fighting against an _invasion_ of all things, but he didn't really have a choice. Duty called and all that. Squeezing his eyes shut, he muttered under his breath, "I should've just let that genjutsu catch me. Then I could just pretend to be asleep and sit out the whole mess."

"You would also be caught up in the fight down there," Neji pointed out coolly, unimpressed by his lack of work ethic. "Do you not recall how one of the ANBU detonated a large number of explosive tags in the arena to try to alert the shinobi audience members of the genjutsu?"

"The chances of you surviving that explosion would be next to none," Shino agreed dully, making Shikamaru sigh.

"Point taken. Neji, can you see my teammates? Hey, don't give me that look," he added when the Hyuuga shot him an annoyed glare. "I'm not trying to boss you around or anything. I know Ino and Chouji were in the stands and I doubt they came here with any equipment, so I should probably go provide support."

Neji's glare lingered on him a few moments more, but then he turned and activated his Byakugan to search for them. "Yamanaka is in the second level of the stands waking people up from the genjutsu. Your other teammate is in the hallway on the first floor trying to guide civilians. I can also see your sensei assisting in the stands, though he seems to be moving towards the halls, most likely to help evacuate."

Shikamaru sighed at the report. Figures they wouldn't be together, that would be too easy. "In that case, I guess I should probably help Chouji first," he reasoned aloud. "Civilians take priority and all that." The stands would probably be messier anyway, so it would make sense to retrieve Chouji first so they could go support Ino together. He nodded to Neji and muttered a quick thanks before heading off, uncaring if either followed.

"We should assist in the evacuations as well," Shino said once he'd left. "My kikaichu indicate a large amount of skilled fighters in the stands, and I believe both of our chakra stores have fallen below optimal levels to engage in large-scale combat." Neji scowled at the younger boy for implying he might be weak, but even with his pride he knew Shino had a point. His own stamina had yet to fully recover from his match, and he would rather not get caught up in an ambush.

"Fine," he bit out. "Let's go." Having reached an agreement, the pair turned to leave only to stop when they found a familiar man blocking the doorway. Neji's face instantly darkened, his mouth pulling into a vicious frown.

"Neji, Shino," Hyuuga Hiashi greeted with a nod. Surveying the empty balcony, he commented, "I see my daughter has not returned." Shino shook his head while Neji just regarded his uncle coolly. Relations between the two houses of the Hyuuga clan had never been particularly close, and Neji in particular held a strong grudge towards the Main House. After all, he'd seen first-hand just how disposable the Branch family seemed to be.

Noting his cold glare, Hiashi turned to face him more fully. "Neji, I need to speak to you later, but now is not the time. Right now, Konoha is facing a severe threat and we must defend it."

"Of course, Hiashi-sama," the younger Hyuuga hissed through gritted teeth, and Hiashi frowned slightly but chose not to comment on it.

"I overheard you, and I approve of your plan. I recommend you go help with evacuation efforts in the streets. There are large numbers of jounin-level fighters here in the stadium, and in the streets it will be easier for you to retreat and locate shelter if you run out of energy or become injured."

"That would be most efficient," Shino decided, inclining his head in agreement. "Thank you for your advice, Hyuuga-san."

"Both of you, be careful," he warned. "And if either of you see Hinata, tell her to give her equipment to a more experienced shinobi and go to the shelters. I have already spent enough time searching for her and ensuring Hanabi's safety, I must go assist in the efforts as well." He did not wait for them to respond before turning and striding away, leaving the two genin to make their way to the streets.

* * *

Tenzo grunted in frustration as he lunged at a Sound ninja, a wooden spike sprouting from his hand and impaling his enemy's stomach. Ripping it out, he then spun and then swung his arm in a wide arc, the spike slicing through the throat of the nearest enemy with a meaty rip and spewing blood all over. As he fell back Tenzo turned and lunged towards the exit, but cursed loudly when another Sound ninja intercepted his path, forcing him back on defense.

He'd done a pretty decent job of restraining the Suna jinchuuriki, but then the boy's siblings suddenly appeared and attacked him with a cutting blast of wind, forcing him to release his hold to defend himself. Handling two genin posed no trouble, but then naturally _more_ enemy ninja descended upon him, and the three siblings took advantage of his distraction to flee. Since then he'd been unable to break away to pursue them, too busy defending himself from the seemingly endless onslaught.

" _Dammit!_ " he roared, his anger rising as he began flashing through hand seals. He _needed_ to go after them, only he could stop Gaara, but at this rate he'd never get out! Before he could finish the sequence a green blur suddenly appeared in his periphery, sending the nearest enemy flying into the nearest wall. A bright sparkle temporarily blinded Tenzo as Maito Gai landed and turned to flash him a brilliant grin, placing one hand on his hip while flashing a thumbs-up with the other.

"Gaku, my most wonderful ally! I saw you were in need of assistance so I have come to help!" Tenzo just stood in mild shock for a moment, even the enemy ninja temporarily paralyzed as they gawked at the new arrival.

"Ah, I think I'm, uh, going by Tenzo again," he muttered sheepishly, and Gai looked at him in slight surprise before beaming once more.

"I see! So you have finally told young Masaru your true name, eh? Glorious! Surely your bond shall only grow stronger with this new era of total honesty between you! We must celebrate later! But for now, please allow us to assist you in fending off these most dastardly foes!"

"Us?" Tenzo repeated, just in time for a wave of shuriken to embed into several of the enemies' sides. Another green blur appeared behind them and solidified into Rock Lee, releasing a vigorous shout as he kicked a man in the face with enough force to send him sailing through the air and into the arena. As his comrades watched him crashed into the ring with stunned faces, Tenten surged forward and slashed several of them in the back with a sickle on a chain, blood flicking off the sharp blade as she jumped back to regain some distance.

"Team Gai will always be ready to help protect Konoha with the power of Youth!" Lee declared with an earnest energy, flipping onto a man's back and slamming him into the steps in the aisle with a loud _crack_.

...Tenzo decided it would be best to just stop questioning this and roll with it.

As the new arrivals began attacking the invaders, Tenzo heard a loud woof and turned to see two of Kakashi's ninken—Bisuke and Akino, if he recalled right—rushing towards them. Naturally their barks drew attention from hostile forces, and the mokuton user swiftly weaved through a few seals to cause wooden columns to block some of the kunai aimed at Bisuke. The beagle barely needed the help, easily weaving through the onslaught of kunai and shuriken to reach Tenzo's side intact.

Akino meanwhile howled and launched at the nearest enemy, latching onto the man's crotch. Tenzo winced sympathetically as the man shrieked in a high falsetto, but quickly grew serious as he turned to Bisuke. "Bisuke, what's the plan?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Boss says we need to do Nine-Ro. He and a bunch of brats are leading the jinchuuriki to the site right now."

"Jinchuuriki?" Gai repeated, turning to them with a grave expression even as he bruised another man's kidney with a well-placed punch. "So that red-haired boy really _is_ Suna's jjinchuuriki?"

"At this point, I'd honestly be surprised if he wasn't," Tenzo murmured grimly, his mind still stuck on the newest information. Nine-Ro depended on his presence, and by now a good three minutes had passed since Gaara left, meaning he'd need to hurry. "We can't waste any time. Can your team cover me so I can escape?"

"Of course, Tenzo! You can always count on us to assist you!" Gai turned to call his genin for assistance and Tenzo nodded to Bisuke before the pair took off, Akino finally releasing his poor victim's now-bleeding groin to join them. Several of the enemies attempted to follow but Team Gai quickly intercepted them, youthful shouts echoing in Tenzo's ears as he leaped onto the roof of the stadium and then into the streets.

* * *

Playing bait for a homicidal jinchuuriki had not been in his plans for today, and yet here Kiba was, racing across rooftops with Team Seven and a psychopath hot on their trail. Below them chaos filled the streets as enemy shinobi clashed with their fellow Leaf ninja, kunai clanking together and jutsu of grand proportions being flung with barely a second thought towards collateral damage. His ears rang with the screams of civilians as they fled for safety, his nostrils clogged with the thick scent of blood and smoke.

"Is that a giant toad fighting a snake?" Sakura squeaked, and they turned to see exactly what she just described.

"That's gotta be Pervy Sage!" Naruto declared, grinning with glee. "Hey! Kakashi-sensei, we should grab him to help! He's probably really strong too!"

"Probably?" Kiba repeated skeptically. "I think we need more than just ' _probably_ '."

"Well, he _is_ a Sannin," Sakura pointed out. "They're all pretty strong. He'd be a major asset if Gaara loses control." The title meant nothing to Kiba, but Sakura _was_ a brainiac, so he decided to just take her word for it and focus instead on the "lose control" part. Holy shit, he might actually have to help fight a Tailed Beast. He was only thirteen, he was too young to die!

For all his stupid stick-up-the-ass scowling, he figured Sasuke agreed because he grunted and briskly said, "We should get him."

"There's no time," Kakashi refused gravely, crushing their hopes. "Jiraiya is better off helping in town anyway, we need all the help we can get there. He won't be as much help to our situation as Tenzo."

"Why him, though?" Masaru pressed. "Gak—uh, _sensei's_ strong, but... Jiraiya is one of the Sannin, so he's probably stronger."

"We need him because of that wood stuff, right?" Naruto muttered darkly, and the other genin turned to look at him in surprise. Kiba frowned, wondering why Naruto sounded so... _grim_ about it. He hadn't spend that much time around the blond, but usually he tended to be super-loud and annoying. This kind of behavior felt disturbingly out of character for him, and Kiba didn't like it.

"You mean the mokuton?" Sakura asked, looking thoughtful. "Come to think of it, I thought that only belonged to the First... Is he related to him?"

"Not exactly," Kakashi hedged. "It's... a long story. What matters is that the mokuton can be used to control Tailed Beasts. Tenzo's not as good with it as the First, but he's better than nothing."

By this point the trees had finally entered their line of sight, just a few minutes away at their current pace. Once they entered, the thick forest would make it harder to check Gaara's position, and the thought made Kiba's stomach churn anxiously. None of them had sensory abilities, and they were moving against the wind so he couldn't pick up his scent, leaving only their eyes as an option to gauge his pursuit.

Ferocious barking drew Kiba's attention and he turned his head to spy his mother and sister fighting off a small wave of intruders in the distance. The Haimaru Brothers lunged at a hapless Sound ninja and clamped their jaws onto his limbs, savagely ripping him apart in a gory spray of ripping flesh and cracking bone. The sheer viciousness of the attack should probably disturb him, but he'd seen them tear apart plenty of animals like that. Humans weren't too big of a step up from rabbits and deer.

As he watched his sister charge to deliver the final blow, a flash of tan appeared in her periphery and Kiba twisted his head around. He grimaced instantly as he spied a red and tan blob in the distance, leaping across the roofs and heading their direction. Ahead of him he heard Masaru gasp. "Uh, guys, he's in sight," the Uchiha warned nervously, and Kiba could sense the others grow tenser at the news.

Cursing under his breath, Kakashi gestured for them to pick up their pace and the small pack of genin obediently sped up, careful not to go too fast so they could at least conserve _some_ energy. "Kiba, Masaru," he said as they jumped across the rooftops, "I need you two and Akamaru to go to the streets and help with evacuation."

" _What!?_ " Both boys almost lost their footing in their shock, staring at the jounin wide-eyed. Kakashi never lost pace even as the rest of Team Seven shot them worried looks, forcing them to quickly recover and run after him so they could hear him continue.

"We need to distribute our forces as efficiently as possible to minimize damage to Konoha as a whole. Kiba, you and Akamaru have strong noses, you'll be more useful in locating injured people and evacuating them than this mission."

"Then why do _I_ have to go?" Masaru questioned. "I'm not a tracker!"

"No, but Kiba will likely require backup and defense while he searches. You have minimal combat experience, but I know from Tenzo that you're pretty skilled in your spars. You should be able to handle it." Masaru fell silent at this point, while Kiba continued to gawk at the jounin.

"B-but, that's—that's just—"

"Kiba," Sasuke interrupted, shooting him an utterly unimpressed look. "Are you saying you'd prefer to fight Gaara?" Kiba paused and glanced over his shoulder. The tan blob had gotten closer since his last peek, allowing him to glimpse the harsh of determination set on Gaara's face, and he shuddered in horror. From the top of his head Akamaru gave a small whine, clearly voicing his opinion on the matter.

Gulping, he turned to face the others and nodded. "Be careful," he told them, and quickly dropped to the streets and raced away. He heard Masaru offer a similar sentiment before following suit, soon matching pace with the Inuzuka. While they hadn't worked together much, Kiba had to admit having another human as backup provided some comfort in the invasion.

The sounds of fighting echoed around them and the air seemed to be clogged with smoke, but Kiba blocked it out and instead tried to sift through his senses to get a sense of their options. Fresh blood to the left, accompanied by the sound of clashing kunai. Ongoing battle, too dangerous to approach. Decaying flesh far ahead, charred wood and crackling flames. Building fire, no survivors worth saving. Dismissing those options, he sniffed the air once more and caught a familiar lilac and lavender aroma, accompanied by... citrus?

"Kiba?" Masaru asked as he abruptly halted but Kiba paid him no mind, too focused on the two newest scents. Something about the citrus one felt familiar, but... where? He glanced to Akamaru, wondering if he recognized it, but the puzzled look on the dog's face told him otherwise. Frowning, he turned towards the direction of the mysterious scents and gave another large sniff, locking in on their location.

"I smell Hinata," he reported, and Masaru immediately perked to attention while Akamaru yipped in confirmation.

"Lead the way," he said, and Kiba nodded at him before taking off.

* * *

 **Let's play a game: whoever can predict the outcome of all these plot bunnies most accurately will get to request an omake. Have fun!**


	36. Chapter 35: Until I'm Numb

**WARNING!**

 **The following chapter depicts death and descriptions of burning and fire-related injuries.**

Readers beware. I got slightly graphic in the descriptions so it may not be good to read.

Chapter 35

* * *

 _"They say the first kill is the hardest. I wonder how long it takes until you get completely numb to it._

 _I wonder if I'll ever reach that point."_

* * *

Uchiha Itachi prided himself on his ability to adapt to the unexpected. He knew that no situation could be totally predicted and planned for, that anything could go wrong on a mission. As such, when he agreed to help infiltrate Konoha for the Chuunin Exams with only the vague information that Orochimaru would likely be involved, he went to the stadium with an open mind, running through dozens of scenarios as he watched the matches.

Invasions? One of the first possibilities he'd considered. Trying to challenge the Hokage individually? Orochimaru had a known grudge against his former mentor, his death would probably be his main priority. The possibility of he and Konan getting involved in that battle? Also within reasonable expectations, as the Akatsuki had their own reasons to fight the Sannin.

But Orochimaru using the Edo Tensei to revive the First and Second Hokage, and then using some sort of mind control technique to have them attack the Third?

That... never occurred to Itachi.

He scowled as he ran along a still-sprouting tree branch, launching himself towards Senju Tobirama while flinging a wave of shuriken at the reanimated Hokage. It took all his willpower and self-control not to freak out over the fact _he was fighting Senju Tobirama_ , and a little more to not set the shuriken aflame like his instincts so desperately demanded.

Naturally the Second Hokage had no issue dodging the projectiles, disappearing in a blur of blue and silver. Reflex alone allowed Itachi to dodge the blow as the man suddenly appeared next to him, delivering a hard kick at the man's torso in the process to send him skidding back a few steps. Mildly surprised he got in the hit at all, Itachi wasted no time retreating into the dense trees which had sprouted atop the roof.

He leaped onto a high branch and pressed against a tree, panting heavily from exhaustion and adrenaline. Hiding wouldn't do much good against a powerful sensor like the Second, but he needed at least a few seconds to recompose himself. The ANBU uniform fit fine but the jacket felt a bit heavier after years of wearing only basic shinobi gear, the mask limited his ability to breathe and the small holes for eyes made his already fading vision so much darker...

Itachi ground his teeth in frustration as he reflected over the situation. Initially, he'd planned to catch Orochimaru in the Tsukuyomi, but the current turn of events made that particular plan much more difficult. Defeating the Second Hokage without using his full range of skills would be next to impossible, but even then he couldn't guarantee that he would emerge victorious. The Edo Tensei negated any sense of pain and provided an impossibly fast regenerative ability, rendering the deceased Senju even more dangerous than he'd been in life.

Sucking in a sharp breath, he closed his eyes and mentally ordered himself to _calm down_. Nerves would do him no good here. After a few deep breaths he felt the tension gradually fade from his shoulders, and his hands flitted to his mask. This situation seemed dire, but it was not all to his total disadvantage. In fact, in a way Orochimaru had actually made a grave mistake by summoning the two legendary Senju:

 _No one could see into the forest._

Sensing the Second appear on the branch next to him, the Uchiha ripped off his mask and swiftly made eye contact with the deceased Senju, his Sharingan instantly changing into the pinwheel shape of his Mangekyo. Time seemed to still as the forest faded into a black void, the reanimated Hokage pulled into the timeless space of his Tsukuyomi without a hitch.

The success caught Itachi mildly off-guard, as he had been unsure if the technique would actually _work_ on someone revived with the Edo Tensei. However, he quickly recovered and assumed control of his genjutsu world, depositing the pair onto a black plain beneath bloody red skies and all color in their bodies drained away.

A glittering white katana materialized in Itachi's hands, the Uchiha swiftly assuming a defensive stance as he faced down his enemy. Breaking the Second's mind with endless torture would be pointless when the man had no control over it, but he could at least take advantage of the extra time to develop a strategy. With luck the rules of the Edo Tensei would still apply in here, so Itachi could use the next three days to determine a weakness in the technique.

However, just as his plan to subdue Orochimaru, he found his newest plan quickly derailed as it became apparent the rules didn't apply—or at least, part of them.

"So you're an Uchiha, huh," the Second murmured, folding his arms with a soft sigh. Itachi stiffened at the direct address towards him, his own eyes widening with surprise as his grip on the blade loosened.

"You're in control," he breathed, his defensive stance faltering in his shock, and the Second gave a single, curt nod.

"I am." Eyes gliding over their surroundings, he commented thoughtfully, "I've never seen a genjutsu like this one before, so I'm guessing it's a Mangekyo technique. At the very least, I know neither Madara nor Izuna could produce something like this."

 _Madara._ The name made Itachi nearly wince, only years of practice in schooling his emotions preventing him from reacting as an orange mask flashing through his mind. Fortunately the Second's attention had been focused on the endless void that stretched around them, otherwise he would have undoubtedly noticed the discomfort that flickered in the Uchiha's eyes.

"Tell me, does this genjutsu connect to my mind in any way?" he questioned.

"Loosely," Itachi allowed. "The Tsukuyomi pulls the target's consciousness inside the world to mimic physical sensation, but ultimately this is a genjutsu world of my own creation and which I have absolute control over, time and space included. Three days can pass inside the Tsukuyomi while only a single second passes in the real world."

"Impressive," the Second praised lightly as he turned to face Itachi once more, and the brief hint of approval in his expression filled Itachi with admittedly mixed feelings. "In that case, this may work to our advantage."

Itachi's reputation as a genius had been well-earned, as he swiftly deduced the hidden meaning in his words. "You have a countermeasure for the Edo Tensei."

"Possibly," the other permitted. "I've obviously never tested it, but I did suspect it might be used on myself so I developed some potential countermeasures. However, I'm more concerned about the seal he used to control me. By any chance, did you get a look at it with the Sharingan?"

Recognizing the intent behind his query, Itachi willed a copy of the kunai Orochimaru had slipped into the back of the two Hokage's necks to whirl into existence in front of him. The Second grabbed it and turned it over to examine the tag attached to the handle, frowning as he noted one side to be blank. "I only saw one half," Itachi explained preemptively. "I do not know if the other side had writing."

"I'd prefer to see both sides, but this should be enough to work out the missing half if it had more. After all, we have a few days, don't we?" He offered Itachi a humorless smile, and the Uchiha exhaled softly before nodding, letting the remaining tension fade away.

"Three at the most, though if necessary I can push it further. However, if I extend it further than that the strain on my chakra may render me unable to battle any longer."

"Then we should get to work right away," the Second declared firmly. "I don't care if only a second passes in the real world, but I don't want my brother under that bastard's control any longer than necessary." Itachi just nodded in silence, feeling a small smirk pull at his lips.

Orochimaru had made an even larger mistake than he'd thought.

* * *

"Hey... Do you feel that?"

"Yeah... They're not going away, are they?"

"I don't think so," Kiba whispered, and Masaru frowned as he turned forward. For the past five minutes both boys had felt the telltale tingle of eyes watching them as they wove through the streets in pursuit of Hinata's scent. For some reason the Hyuuga heiress had taken a rather isolated path that led them through a series of back streets and alleyways which had been largely untouched by the fighting before leading into a stretch of forest, making the sensation of being watched even more unnerving than usual.

"Can you tell anything about them?" he whispered to Kiba, and the Inuzuka frowned.

"Not really, I'm kinda focusing on Hinata's scent 'cause hers is getting weaker and I'm worried if I'll lose it if I try to focus on another smell. Akamaru might know something though." Masaru turned to look at the ninken at this point, watching closely as the pup sniffed at the air. He turned a sharp look at Masaru and made a small grunting noise under his breath, quiet and muffled almost as if whispering.

For all Akamaru might be intelligent, that did not change the fact that Masaru still could not understand him, and the noise the pup made meant absolutely nothing to him. He leveled a bland look at Kiba, and the Inuzuka snorted quietly before dutifully translating. "He says he smells at least four people about one hundred yards behind us. He can't get a clear lock on their scents though, they must be doing something to suppress it." Masaru frowned as he mentally assessed the information.

Four enemy ninja, most likely chuunin-level at a minimum... Between the two of them and Akamaru, they _might_ be able to handle them, but doing that would probably cause Kiba to lose track of Hinata's scent. While she _had_ made it to the final round of the Exams, she still had an overly gentle demeanor that made her ill-suited for the battlefield. The poor girl would be far out of her element in an invasion, not to mention her Byakugan would make her a prime target for foreign forces.

(" _He's so bright and happy, he never gives up... I want to be like him._ ")

Chewing his lip, Masaru reached a decision and looked to Kiba. "I'll stall them while you go ahead," he declared quietly, and the Inuzuka shot him an incredulous look.

"Are you _kidding_?" he hissed. "You've only been in one real fight before! And those guys weren't even ninja! You can't just take on four ninja and expect to walk out of it alive!"

"Do you see a better option?" Masaru countered, shooting his fellow genin a cold glare. "You _just_ said that Hinata's scent is already fading, if you stop now you'll probably lose it. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not leave Hinata alone for longer than necessary. Besides, I've been training nonstop this month." Fists tightening at his side, he allowed his Sharingan to activate as he added coolly, "I can at least hold my own long enough to lure them to a more populated area and find backup."

Kiba still looked unhappy about the proposed plan, conflict visibly showing on his face, but apparently Akamaru approved as he gave an eager yip and bobbed his head at Masaru with a doggy smile. The Uchiha flashed the pup a small smile of his own, and Kiba sighed irritably. "Okay, fine! You win. I still don't like it, but I can't think of any better ideas. But don't try to be a hero, I am _not_ dealing with Sasuke if you get yourself killed."

"Got it," Masaru said with a nod, and with a final glance at the Inuzuka pair he stopped and whirled around to face their pursuers. Ninjutsu he'd seen at a distance during their run flashed through his mind, his hands mimicking the seals for one with the aid of his Sharingan. "Futon: Gale Palm!"

He clapped his hands together and a burst of wind exploded forth like a shockwave, tearing leaves off nearby trees and prompting his hidden pursuers to move into the open. As they tumbled into sight Masaru felt his stomach sink with dread, because he found not four enemies but _six_. All of them wore matching uniforms with black masks shrouding their faces to leave only their eyes exposed, metal plates gleaming on their foreheads engraved with a single music note.

Having been exposed, the Sound ninja quickly launched towards him and Masaru gritted his teeth as he jumped to the side, pouring chakra into his legs to carry him as fast as possible towards town. He could hear his pursuers shouting as they chased after him, weapons whizzing his direction. One nicked his arm and Masaru ducked behind a thick tree to dodge another volley of kunai, gritting his teeth as his mind raced.

Retreating from six ninja would be next to impossible. _Fighting_ six Chuunin-level enemies at once would even harder and near-suicidal, but if he wanted to escape he'd need to whittle their numbers down to something more reasonable. He swiftly ran through the hand seals for the fireball needed for Foxfire, grateful he still wore the gloves as he let the golden flames coat his fists. It hadn't worked against that fake ANBU, but in this situation it might be more useful.

Hearing footsteps draw near, Masaru leaped out of his hiding spot and swiped at the nearest enemy. The blaze spiraled from his fingertips and hit the man square in the chest, three long, claw-like gauges burning through his shirt to sear his skin. Staggering back with a pained cry, the man failed to react before Masaru could charge at him, delivering a powerful kick to the still-sizzling wounds.

Charred skin and blood clung to the sole of Masaru's shoe as the man flew backwards, almost feeling the skin peel away from his chest in the process. He crashed into head-first, a loud _crack_ sounding before he fell with his neck bent at an unnatural angle. A cold chill washed over Masaru as he recognized the man to be dead and _he just killed a person_ but he had no time to process it, because even as he pulled his foot back spied a kunai flying his way.

He quickly stomped his foot on the ground and slide to the side. He managed to snag the handle of the kunai as it whizzed past him though and immediately whirled to throw it at another man. Naturally, he still had Foxfire active, which meant the kunai had been exposed to fire just enough to create a sizzling sound as it grazed the poor man's arm. Conveniently, it also cut him just inside the elbow joint, which had admittedly not been Masaru's intention, but it made the wound even _more_ agonizing if the man's scream was anything to go by.

Sadly, Masaru had no time to pursue this potential opening any further, as a flurry of shuriken flew towards his legs demanded his attention. As he jumped over them though, he suddenly registered a _whishing_ sound from his right and turned his head to see a kunai sailing straight at his right arm.

He cried out as the blade embedded into his forearm, Foxfire fizzling out as he roughly landed and clutched at the wound. Sharp pain radiated from his arm with each movement he made, every twitch jostling the blade and causing it to tear deeper into the surrounding muscles.

 _My deaf side—it came from my deaf side,_ he thought, his heart pounding frantically. For the first time, Masaru realized just how disadvantageous his partial deafness really was. Had the kunai come from the left he'd have heard it fine, but instead it approached his right side, and because of that it had come too close to dodge by the time he finally heard it.

Under normal circumstances his momentary distraction should have been lethal, and sure enough he noticed a bright glint in his periphery and he snapped his head forward to see a kunai zooming towards him. However, when it hovered just inches from his face another kunai suddenly knocked it away, sending both clattering to the ground. "Idiot, he's one of the Uchiha!" one of the men yelled irritably. "Take him down without killing or maiming him!"

The orders made Masaru's heart stop, sudden dread washing over him as he processed the implications. Adrenaline pumped through him as he yanked the kunai out of his arm and flashed through hand seals, ignoring the blossom of pain from the still-fresh wound as blood poured through his sleeve.

" _Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!_ " A giant inferno erupted from his mouth, the nearby trees quickly catching fire as the fireball rapidly swelled to several meters in diameter. An agonized screech emerged from the flames as one of the ninja failed to escape in time, and as the blaze faded Masaru could see a charred body fall to the ground. _Two down. Two people dead._

(Had any of the other genin gotten their first kills yet? No, don't think about that now. _Focus._ )

He dove to the side to avoid a shuriken aimed at his shoulder, rolling away and landing in a crouch. Right now, he _immensely_ regretted volunteering to fight alone, because while he somehow managed to kill two enemies he was _still_ severely outmatched. He started to go through the hand seals for another fireball but had to abort it to dodge yet another wave of shuriken, sucking in a sharp breath as one lightly grazed his side.

 _Focus! Focus!_ Masaru turned and sped off, pumping his legs full of chakra to increase the power of his strides. Turning his back on his enemies made him feel sick and terrified, but right now he stood no chance on his own. If he could just get into town and find backup, he'd be fine. That thought fueled his steps as he ran in a randomized zigzag pattern, trying to make it as hard as possible for his enemies to predict his path when aiming projectiles.

As he dodged another kunai he suddenly noticed a shadow loom over him and dove to the right just in time to avoid a punch from one of the ninja as he dropped down from a tree, the man's fist colliding into the ground with a small but still sizable crash. Masaru's eyes widened as he watched dirt fly in slow motion, his Sharingan recording the earth rippling beneath the man's knuckles to form a small crater in excruciating detail. The force of that punch, if it had hit him—

"Idiot, I just said _not_ to kill him!" one of the others roared, and time returned to its normal pace as Masaru rolled to his feet and resumed running, his steps spurred by an even more frantic desperation to escape. The men desired him alive so they should avoid going after vitals, but that left plenty of room for serious incapacitating injuries. Broken legs, twisted arms, a well-placed senbon to the neck—the number of nonlethal methods to incapacitate him ran through his mind.

The number _multiplied_ if they had a medical ninja on their side who could heal the worst of it.

As he fled he registered a low, swooping sound behind him, and instinct prompted him to jump even before he identified it, but his efforts proved futile. A thick rope with weights tied on either end snagged around his ankles, the sudden weight throwing him to the ground with a startled shout. Dirt and soil rolled into his mouth as he crashed painfully, his palms only saved from being skinned by his gloves while tiny twigs penetrated his clothing to scrape his body.

Struggling to sit up, Masaru gasped as he accidentally placed his weight on his right arm, the shallow hole from the kunai bleeding even _more_ profusely at the sudden increase in pressure. He pushed through the pain to roll over and rushed through seals, unleashing another Grand Fireball on his pursuers. He heard more shrieks as two men failed to totally clear it, but to his dismay he saw them drop and roll away, their sides heavily burned but both still alive.

He fumbled in his weapons pouch for a kunai to cut through the rope wrapped around his legs, but just as he sliced through them a shadow loomed over him and he felt a hand grip his hair, harshly jerking his head upwards.

Blood sprayed, and he felt too numb to scream.

* * *

Of all the crazy plans Kakashi had conceived in his career, using his own genin team as bait for a crazed, unstable jinchuuriki ranked pretty high. He _hated_ treating his comrades like this, risking the lives of his three precious students so brazenly on something he knew to be a gamble, but as it stood Sasuke would be targeted by Gaara anyway. At least this would give them a chance to possibly defeat the red-haired boy, and minimize damage to Konoha.

Still, he didn't like it. He didn't want to risk anyone more than necessary, especially _children_ , and he had no illusions about his ability to defend them if the Ichibi rampaged. He'd managed to find a reason for Masaru and Kiba to leave, but he couldn't conceive of one for any of the others. Sakura would never abandon Sasuke, her crush on the boy overpowered her sense of logic more than he would like. Naruto, meanwhile...

"Naruto, you know something, don't you." Sasuke's words stopped his current train of thought, and Kakashi turned his head to see the broodier of his students watching Naruto with a probing look.

"Huh? What're you talking about?" the blond muttered, shooting him a quizzical frown. Sasuke merely scowled, clearly unimpressed by his blank expression.

"Don't play dumb. You're usually the one who's floundering around and totally clueless about everything, but this time you haven't asked _one_ question. Not about jinchuuriki, not about mokuton, not about this so-called plan, not about _anything_. Hell, you haven't even talked _once_ this past five minutes. I didn't even know that was possible."

As he spoke Sakura turned to look at Naruto with renewed curiosity, Sasuke's points clearly resonating with her. The blond just frowned as he turned away from his teammates, his normally bright blue eyes melancholic and uncertain. The sight of such a pained look on the typically sunny and cheerful blond's face made Kakashi's heart lurch in agony, his mouth pulling into a heavy frown behind his mask.

Kakashi knew why Naruto didn't want to answer. He still remembered that horrible day, the Kyuubi's red chakra leaking from the tiny eight-year-old boy as screams of utter despair and agony filled his ears. Had things gone according to plan he wouldn't have found out until after he became a ninja, but instead Kakashi had to watch his sensei's son grow up with a fox whispering in his ear.

"Naruto," he said, grabbing everyone's attentions. "You don't need to answer right now. We need to focus on the situation at hand." _You don't need to answer at all if you don't want to,_ went unsaid, but Kakashi could tell that Naruto recognized the underlying message all the same.

"I... Yeah, you're right," he muttered quietly, nodding absently. Sucking in a sharp breath, his fists curled at his side and he raised his head to face his teammates, his eyes sparking with newfound determination. "Look, I'll explain later. But right now, we need to kick Gaara's butt before and show that stupid monster inside him that no one can screw with Konoha!"

He flashed a bright grin as he spoke, the sudden confidence in his expression obviously surprising his fellow genin. Temporarily speechless, after a moment Sasuke simply scoffed and turned forward, his scowl still present. "Fine. But we _are_ talking about this later, dobe."

"Yeah, don't expect us to forget about this," Sakura added with a firm nod. "We can't afford to hide secrets from each other. I don't know what you're hiding or why you seem so nervous about it, but that doesn't change the fact you're our teammate." Surprise flashed on Naruto's face while Sasuke nodded in mute agreement, and Kakashi felt a sudden surge of warmth to swell in his chest as he watched the scene, a rare, genuine smile flickering into existence behind his mask.

 _Sensei, it looks like I'm doing something right after all,_ he mused quietly as he watched his three students.

Naruto might bear a painful burden no one should have to, but at least he had friends he could count on.

His smile quickly faded though, his eye widening in alarm as he glimpsed movement behind them. He skidded to a halt and spun to face the newcomer, a kunai sliding into his hand and poised for throw. By the time the three genin stopped and turned to face him the sense of threat vanished though as Tenzo stepped into his line of sight, Akino and Bisuke trailing at his heels.

"Tenzo?" Kakashi greeted slowly, his stance still tense and stiff. The mokuton user frowned as glanced at the small group, but Naruto visibly brightened at his arrival and pumped a fist into the air with a loud cheer.

"Alright! Now that you're here we'll be able to take down Gaara easy!" His teammates responded to his enthusiasm with tentative looks towards their teacher, any relief they may have felt tempered by the grim, calculating look in Kakashi's eye. An icy chill of foreboding shivered down his spine as he met Tenzo's eyes, both men instantly understanding the implications of his arrival.

"Tenzo, did you see Gaara?" he asked gravely, and his former subordinate grimaced.

"No, I didn't. I was in the stadium for about three minutes before these two grabbed me." Naruto's cheers abruptly halted as he looked at him in confusion, but the other two genin visibly stiffened, swiftly recognizing just _why_ both men remained so on edge.

"Maybe you took a different route that was just faster?" Sakura suggested quickly, but behind her Kakashi shook his head.

"We took the fastest route I knew. And even then, Akino or Bisuke would have noticed Gaara's scent at some point. He smells like blood and sand," he added with a pointed glance to the two ninken.

"We noticed a trail of something like that on the way, but it was already pretty old," Akino confirmed promptly. "It turned off to a different route back in town."

"Wait, are you saying Gaara stopped following us?" Naruto blurted, finally realizing what his teammates had already gathered. Kakashi nodded grimly, grimacing under his mask.

"That's the most logical explanation." The question was why. Gaara had wanted to fight Sasuke above all else, and at one point they'd even been able to _see_ him following them—

Kakashi froze as sickening realization punched him in the stomach. _Shit._ "Akino, Bisuke, with me!" he barked as he started running for the trees. "Tenzo, you come too!" The others looked a bit startled by the sudden orders, but Tenzo quickly recovered and raced after him while the two ninken followed suit. A glance at them and the two dogs bounded ahead to take lead, recognizing his intent even without him needing to voice it.

Having received no orders of their own, Team Seven exchanged worried glances before moving to follow Kakashi. "Kakashi, what's going on?" Sasuke demanded hotly as they trailed after him. "Didn't you say Gaara would be following _me_?"

"I thought he was, but I was wrong," he responded, frowning as he recalled that brief glimpse of Gaara during the pursuit.

 _He'd been in their line of sight when he sent Kiba and Masaru away._

* * *

A strangled scream escaped the Sound ninja before sharply cutting off as a giant fist of sand squeezed him, crushing his internal organs beyond repair. Its grip loosened and his crumpled body dropped to the ground, landing amidst the rest of his comrades' corpses. Crimson liquid seeped into the earth and stained Masaru's leg but he barely noticed, only able to stare numbly at the teenage boy looming over him.

"Uchiha Masaru," Gaara murmured, his pale green eyes seeming to pierce right through him. "I was looking for you."

* * *

 **The game is still ongoing: _what will be the final outcome of the invasion?_**

Did anyone think that Gaara would divert his route to Masaru? Or that Itachi would catch the Second in the Tsukuyomi? No one posted those predictions. **Remember, whoever predicts the outcome of all these plot threads the most accurately will get to request an omake.** (On the note of omakes, I still plan to post the Team Jiraiya one I promised since I got 100 favorites on FF. I'm waiting for this arc to end since it's so dark and serious.)

This chapter is both satisfying and unsatisfying. There's some more stuff to Masaru's reasoning for splitting up from Kiba, but I can't go into the full details just yet so it admittedly feels pretty weak here. The same can be said for Kiba _agreeing_ to split up like that; there's more to their side quest than meets the eye. Combat scenes in general are also one of my weak points, but I feel like I'm improving and feel pretty happy with Masaru's fight.

Also, Masaru got his first two kills as a shinobi! And the Grand Fireball actually killed someone for once! (Masaru is, in fact, the first one from the Rookie 10 to get a kill. Keep that in mind.)

I also took a few liberties with the jutsu featured here. Namely, 1) Tobirama has control of himself inside the Tsukuyomi, and 2) I gave hand seals to Gale Palm. In canon, Gale Palm is performed with just a clap. It feels like a stretch for the Sharingan to copy it based on a clap alone though, so I'm going with the explanation that inexperienced users still need hand seals. The only person we see use it in canon is Nagato, so it's plausible.

 _~A preview for next time~_

 _"My family... They never loved me. They hated me, they looked at me with fear. My father sent assassins after me for as long as I can remember. Do you know why?" He took a single step forward, the shade from the leafy forest canopy overhead casting an ominous shadow over his features. "Before I was born, he had a demon sealed inside me. My mother died that day, she gave me this name so I would destroy Suna for using her as a sacrifice."_


	37. Chapter 36: One Big Lie

**Usually I like to keep Author's Notes at the bottom, but this chapter has a _special_ ending and I feel like it'll be less impactful if I include the A/N there. **

First off, there's an awesome fan fic named **Bloodless** by Tavina. It's an SI fic where the SI is Inuzuka Hana, and it involves some intense political intrigue regarding Iwa, the Uchiha clan, and _also_ the Hyuuga. Also, almost all of the characters in there are canon, which is seriously impressive. It's been updating every day recently, so it's been kind of spoiling me! Very fun read and it's been a fun way to start my day lately.

Another recommendation: **Dance of the Dog God** , by Tartarun. It has Kakashi as a missing-nin, and Obito as the teacher for Team Seven. To give you an idea of how much it diverges from canon, the Wave arc doesn't even take place in Wave. I am _jealous_ of the universe's alterations and Kakashi's characterization in it. Read it, but beware, it is dark and while it does an amazing job at balancing it out with humor, it has at least one seriously gory and disturbing scene. (Anyone ever read Uzumaki by Junji Ito? This gave me some fun flashbacks~)

With the recommendations out of the way, this chapter is Reebajee's fault. Blame her for this outcome. Or thank her. This chapter has several elements/scenes I planned to include from the start, but she's the one who inspired the confrontation between Gaara and Masaru. And THAT gave me the opening to tie all these random ideas together in an even better way than I could have imagined.

This chapter is **very** important. I really want your guys' input on how I handled it, because I think this is one of those chapters that can either turn a story around on its head in a good way, or make it weaker. With all that said, please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 36

* * *

 _"Sometimes, the truth is painful. Sometimes, you don't want to believe the truth. Sometimes, you just want it all to be one big lie."_

* * *

Today probably marked the second scariest day in Masaru's life.

Number one would always, _always_ be the massacre, but today? Today definitely served as a strong contender for the spot, what with the invasion, having to fight off six enemy ninja on his own, and then _the homicidal jinchuuriki_ tracking _him_ down instead of pursuing Masaru's last remaining relative like expected.

Masaru felt numb as he stared up at the dangerous boy looming over him, the kunai in his hand forgotten in the icy bloodlust Gaara radiated. Corpses littered the ground around him and saturated the forest floor, Masaru's face and clothing sprinkled with blood which had rained from the giant sand fists. Yet none of that mattered, not in the face of the deadly Sand genin responsible for it.

At any given time he would describe Gaara as "disturbing," but never had that applied more than now. The redhead looked eerily calm standing amongst the carnage he'd just wrought, yet his eyes held a certain malicious gleam that sent an instinctive shudder down Masaru's spine. His skin seemed to _vibrate_ as his chakra stirred the grains composing his sand armor, only adding to the unsettling aura he possessed.

"Mother has been quite interested in you," he declared blandly.

Something told Masaru that did _not_ refer to Gaara's actual mother. Blinking slowly, Masaru found his mouth opening to ask, "Why?"

"She says you look like Indra." _Indra._ The name echoed in Masaru's head, one of his hands unconsciously fluttering towards his hair as he recalled his mother's voice from long ago ( _Indra's hair, you have Indra's hair, Masa-kun._ ). Gory tangles brushed against his fingertips, along with something wet and fleshy. Absently he wrenched it free from the mass of curls to inspect it, and stared at the object blankly for three seconds before recognizing it as a finger.

Oh, right. One of them had been clutching his hair when Gaara attacked. Now that Masaru had started to come to his senses he suddenly noticed his hair felt heavier than usual, and he realized that _more_ fingers must be caught in it.

Bile rose in his mouth and he quickly swallowed it back, his initial numbness swiftly giving way to bone-chilling terror as he began to fully comprehend the severity of the situation.

A crazed jinchuuriki who had likely been brought to Konoha as part of an invasion plan stood in front of Masaru. Something he called "mother" expressed an interest in him because he looked like Indra. Indra, a mythical figure who had supposedly been the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths and the original ancestor of the Uchiha.

All of those facts pointed to some rather disturbing implications which Masaru decided not to dwell on too much, at least not while he sat in mortal peril.

"I... see," he croaked, letting the finger drop to the ground. It unwillingly drew his gaze as it rolled away, bright and pale and red against the lifeless brown dirt. Masaru swallowed thickly and forced himself to face Gaara, searching for words. "I-is that... good?" He internally winced at the mild stutter, and the redhead's eyes narrowed, studying him for a moment before answering.

"Mother says you're... different. More nervous." A brief pause. "She says you're amusing."

Despite his current mortal terror Masaru couldn't help but slump a bit at the subtle jab. He couldn't know for sure, but he got the sense that a Tailed Beast _might_ be laughing at him right now. Then again, that amusement might be the only thing keeping him alive...

Forcing himself to steady his breathing, he slowly and carefully rose to his feet, ignoring the way his legs wobbled. Gaara watched him intently the entire time, his face ever unchanging. _Buy time,_ some voice said in the back of his mind. _Humor him long enough to think up a plan or for someone to come._

"Um... thank you," he muttered cautiously. "F-for, that." He gestured vaguely to the massacre around them, resisting the grimace which threatened to tug on his mouth. The casual ease with which Gaara slaughtered them still made him sick, but he couldn't deny that had Gaara not appeared he likely would have been captured. (He still didn't know if that would be better or worse.)

Of course, the other boy didn't respond right away, simply staring at Masaru as if searching for something. "What do you think of love?" he finally asked, and Masaru just stared blankly, struggling to process the random nature of the query.

"I... don't know? I-I mean, that's, kind of a vague thing to ask... I don't really know how to answer." Apparently his answer didn't _displease_ Gaara, or at the very least, he didn't suddenly look angry or murderous.

"Would you say your family loved you?"

That... did not meet his expectations. "Yes." The word slipped out without hesitation, and Gaara's eyes narrowed.

"Both of them? Your mother _and_ sister?"

Masaru opened his mouth to respond "yes" but then stopped, the implications of the question striking him. _How did Gaara know he didn't have a father?_

* * *

They had made a mistake.

It hadn't been an obvious mistake. Tenzo couldn't fault Kakashi for it, even if the older jounin _obviously_ blamed himself. Every sign pointed to Gaara wanting to fight Sasuke—hell, Gaara had explicitly addressed Sasuke back in the stadium. But at some point during the pursuit, his directive had clearly changed from one Uchiha to the other.

According to Kakashi it most likely happened when Masaru and Kiba had broken away from the main group at his orders, since that had been the last time they'd seen the jinchuuriki. Team Seven had expressed a great deal of surprise when Kakashi relayed his suspicions to them, and it had taken a bit of effort to keep Sasuke and Naruto from running ahead. Tenzo heavily suspected the boys only relented because they'd need the ninken to track them down, but Naruto still sent a horde of shadow clones ahead anyway.

Now they just ran in grim silence, waiting for Akino or Bisuke to bark out confirmation they'd caught Gaara's scent. It gave Tenzo a lot of time for his mind to wander, and his thoughts kept circling back to a single question:

 _Why?_

Why did Gaara want to find Masaru? Tenzo knew for a _fact_ they hadn't interacted since that first escort mission. ANBU had kept a close eye on both of the Uchiha boys over the past month due to Orochimaru's interest in them, and if Gaara had so much as _stared_ at Masaru from across the street it would have been noted down. Even if they had no confirmation of Gaara's suspected jinchuuriki status at the time, his actions during the Chuunin Exams merited a good level of wariness.

Whatever the reason for his interest, it couldn't be good.

As he mulled over it Tenzo risked a look at Kakashi, frowning as he noted the tightness around his single eye. No doubt the man blamed himself for this; he always did when something went wrong, even if that something fell beyond his control. Sensing his gaze, Kakashi glanced at him before quickly turning his face forward once more, his eye growing even _dimmer_.

Dammit, now he was probably thinking he'd failed Tenzo by endangering his student. Tenzo _definitely_ cared for Masaru and felt more worried than he'd ever been in his life, but he wouldn't blame Kakashi for failing to predict this turn of events. Logically speaking, they had no way to anticipate that Gaara would abandon his pursuit of Sasuke to chase after Masaru instead.

He opened his mouth to say as much when Naruto suddenly shouted. "HEY! That's that creepy puppet guy and that girl who beat Sakura!" He jabbed a finger at two figures in the distance and sure enough, he recognized Temari and Kankurou, the two elder Sand Siblings standing on a rooftop looking around as if searching for something. Next to him Sakura's eyes ignited with _rage_ , a feral snarl escaping her as she charged forward.

"HOW DARE YOU KNOCK ME OUT OF THE FINALS JUST SO YOUR SHITTY VILLAGE CAN INVADE!" she screamed as she flung herself at Temari with her arm reeling back for a powerful punch. The startled Sand kunoichi spun to face her in alarm and made to jump away, but she moved too slow to evade her. Chakra visibly surged around her fist as she smashed it into Temari's side, sending the other girl _flying_ into the nearest wall with a pained gasp.

Naruto and Sasuke momentarily faltered as they stared at the scene with their jaws falling open, and Kankurou jumped back with a loud " _What the hell!_ " Sakura just stood on the roof with her shoulders heaving at the exertion of the blow, her face still contorted into a vicious snarl as she glared at Temari's groaning form. Blood noticeably seeped from her knuckles, her skin peeled away by the force of the blow, but she hardly seemed to care.

"...What have you been teaching her?" Tenzo whispered to Kakashi.

"...I gave her a basic strength-training regiment for the month," he replied lamely. "Looks like she made progress faster than I thought."

The blow had not been strong enough to create a hole in the wall or anything dramatic like that, but the impact still clearly knocked the wind out of Temari. The older girl carefully peeled herself away from the bricks and slid to her knees, wrapping her arms around her torso with a pained wheeze. Kankurou just stared at her in shock, looking torn between helping his sister or engaging the new arrivals.

Recovering from his own shock, Sasuke closed the remaining space between them and grabbed the older boy by the collar, hefting him off his feet. His eyes burned bright red with the Sharingan, his lips curling back in a furious snarl not unlike a wolf or a tiger. " _Where. Is. Gaara?_ " he growled, and Kankurou visibly blanched, his eyes widening as he stared directly into the Sharingan.

"W-we don't know!" he replied quickly. "We were following him but some other Leaf ninja attacked us, and we lost sight of him!" He broke away from Sasuke's grip and scrambled back a few steps, the Uchiha allowing him to do so and watching him with cold eyes. Tugging at his collar in an attempt to fix it, Kankurou hastily added, "Besides, wasn't he following _you_!?"

"He stopped at some point," Kakashi responded on behalf of his student. "We think he left to pursue Uchiha Masaru instead. However, we don't know why." Both Sand genin visibly stiffened at the information, first looking confused before their faces fell as a strong sense of apprehension visibly overtook them.

"The... file," Temari wheezed, still struggling to regain her breath.

"File?" Tenzo straightened at the word, leveling a sharp look at her. "What are you talking about?" She opened her mouth to respond but instead coughed, and shot her brother a pointed look. He frowned at her but then seemed to relent to her unspoken request, turning to face the Leaf ninja with a sigh.

"Ever since we got here, Gaara's been acting weird. He's been bugging Baki-sensei to get him information on some girl."

"A girl?" Naruto parroted, looking understandably confused. "What, are you saying he has a crush or something?"

"Doubt it," Kankurou grumbled, scowling at the notion. "Gaara's screwed up, but even he's not into _corpses_. She's been dead for, like, five years. He wanted Baki to get the files on how it went down."

A sudden chill washed over Tenzo as the pieces suddenly started to fall into place in his head, painting a sickening picture. A look at Kakashi told him he'd made the connection too, the silver-haired jounin stared at the puppeteer in shock before his eye sharply narrowed. "Who?" he demanded, and Temari grunted as she sat up.

"Uchiha Akari," she ground out.

Time seemed to slow at the name, Tenzo feeling his heart lurch to a halt as he looked at the others. Confusion and alarm marred Naruto's features, obviously struggling to remember Akari but recognizing the significance of the Uchiha part at least. Sakura mouthed the name with a growing look of horror, clearly recognizing what it meant. Sasuke, meanwhile, looked shell-shocked at the mention of his deceased cousin, but in his stunned features he spied a glimmer of swiftly growing rage.

Kakashi, as usual, looked almost unreadable, but after knowing him for years Tenzo could recognize the shock and pain whirling in his lone eye. Grinding his teeth, the mokuton user quickly turned to the two ninken who had stopped to watch the show with obvious curiosity. Their eyes met and the canines snapped to visible attention, swiftly turning to resume their pursuit.

Tenzo grabbed Kakashi's shoulder to get his attention. "We need to go," he said briskly, and his former senpai just nodded mutely before they set off in pursuit of the two dogs, ignoring the confused shouts from the genin behind them.

* * *

Masaru fumbled for words, struggling to pull his mind into some semblance of order. "Y-yes," he whispered, his voice just a little shaky. "They—they both loved me." Gaara's eyes narrowed, the intent behind them still just as inscrutable as before.

"My family... They never loved me. They hated me, they looked at me with fear. My father sent assassins after me for as long as I can remember. Do you know why?" He took a single step forward, the shade from the leafy forest canopy overhead casting an ominous shadow over his features. "Before I was born, he had a demon sealed inside me. My mother died that day. She died cursing the village with her last breath, and gave me this name so I would destroy Suna for using her as a sacrifice."

Masaru shuddered at his cold tone, swallowing thickly as he shifted under Gaara's scrutinizing gaze. Sand began to ripple around the Jinchuuriki's feet as he extended his arm with his palm facing upwards, the grains lazily rising to circle his wrist in a large, slowly spinning ring. "My uncle... He claimed to love me. He claimed my mother loved me, and that this sand protected me as an extension of her will to protect me."

The circling ring of sand froze in its orbit. "He lied. He tried to kill me when I was six. So I killed him." His hand clenched into a tight fist and the sand shot towards Masaru like needles. The Uchiha flinched as he felt it slice along his cheek, fresh blood seeping from the small cut and wetting the recently-dried blood already caking his face.

Inhaling a shuddery breath, he slowly raised a hand to brush against it, forcing himself to meet Gaara's cold gaze.

"I... I'm sorry," he whispered, a thick lump bobbing in his throat. "I... don't know what it's like, b-but... That's—that's not fair." His voice cracked on the last word and he quickly averted his eyes to the ground, biting his lip. He had no idea why Gaara felt the need to share this, but he meant it when he said it wasn't fair. From what he said Gaara had been _born_ a jinchuuriki; he had no choice in the matter, and that just _wasn't fair_.

Gaara didn't respond right away, but Masaru could feel his eyes boring into him.

"Do you still say they loved you?" he questioned, making Masaru sharply raise his head in surprise. "Your mother and sister? Did your mother love _both_ of you?" Masaru stared at him numbly, words failing him as he stared at the jinchuuriki. Heart pounding in his ears, his hands clenched at his side and he forced himself to nod, his teeth grinding briefly.

"Y-yes. Mom, Akari... Th-they both loved me. We all loved each other." Sea foam green eyes pierced into him as if searching for something, and then...

Gaara _smiled_.

A heavy shudder shook Masaru as he saw the other boy's lips lift upwards ever so slightly, his head inclining to the side. "I see," he murmured slowly, his smile growing wider. "So you really believe that, do you?" His shoulders began to shake as he spoke and Masaru gave a start as Gaara started _laughing_ , just snickering quietly under his breath and _smiling_ at Masaru.

Cracks began to form in his skin as he snorted, eyes twinkling with some sort of deranged glee over some sick joke only he could understand. "You say your mother loved you," he giggled. "Your mother, Uchiha Ryoko, loved you. She loved _both_ of you!" His giggles escalated to hysterical laughter, his sadistic cackling seeming to echo around the forest.

Masaru winced and more than anything wanted to cover his ears but he couldn't, he couldn't move or blink or look away as he watched Gaara double over holding his side with hysterical laughter. Gasping for breath, the Sand genin lifted his head just enough for Masaru to see black seeping into his eyes, his mouth twisted into an insane grin that bordered on a sadistic sneer.

"Love is so twisted," he whispered, giggling as he looked at the growing horror on Masaru's face. "Love is so _twisted_ , isn't it, _Ma-sa-ru_? My father tried to kill me because he hates me and fears me. And your mother—"

He stopped, throwing back his head to unleash a bout of hysterical laughter and raising his arms in a grand gesture. " _And your mother killed your sister in the name of love!_ "

 _Ba-bump._

The world seemed to shift, Gaara's insane laughter disappearing and leaving only the sound of Masaru's heartbeat pounding in his ears.

 _Ba-bump._

His eyes burned worse than ever before, and he could see Gaara's lips move in slow motion. _She cut off her head,_ he mouthed. _Stabbed out her eyes with a kunai._

 _Ba-bump._

 _Isn't life marvelous?_

 _Ba-bump._

 _Isn't love hiLa_ _ **rIoUS**_ _?_

 _Ba-BUMP._

 _It's all juSt a_ _ **liE**_ _! No one can_ _ **LO**_ _v_ _ **E**_ _ **Ot**_ _hE_ _ **Rs**_ _! YO_ _ **u cA**_ _N o_ _ **Nl**_ _Y L_ _ **Ov**_ _E Yo_ _ **UR**_ _s_ _ **eLf**_ _!_

 ** _BA-BUMP._**

 _"Masaru, Akari. Come here."_

 _A small brown-haired head poked through the door of the tea room, large black eyes blinking innocently. "Masaru did it," Akari chirped, and then fell to the floor as her brother shoved her from behind._

 _"Don't just randomly accuse me of stuff!" he snapped irritably, crossing his arms with a huff. Akari scrambled into a sitting position, pointing at him as she looked at their mother._

 _"Look! See? Masaru just pushed me! He's the bad one!" The young boy released a strangled noise of frustration and began twitching erratically, clearly yearning to smack his sister but just a little too chivalrous to go through with it._

 _"Akari-chan, I didn't call you because you're in trouble," Ryoko laughed, drawing their attention back to her. "Unless, of course, you did something you deserve to get in trouble for...?"_

 _"Oh. Um, no. I didn't." Akari blinked, and sat up straighter with a sheepish smile, her head tilting cutely to the side. "I just thought you were mad about something so I wanted to, um..." She trailed off, looking for the right words._

 _"Establish an alibi by framing your brother?" Ryoko supplied with a growing smile, and Akari bobbed her head with a bright grin of her own._

 _"Yeah! That!" She beamed at Ryoko, appearing totally oblivious to Masaru's glare boring into the back of her head for trying to set him up. Then her gaze flicked back to him and the corner of her mouth twitched upwards into the tiniest smirk._

 _Chivalry was dead. Akari needed to go down._

 _Their mother watched Masaru pounced upon Akari with a fierce battle cry with a smile, her eyes twinkling with amusement as they began rolling around. Ninja training had made their wrestling matches a little more violent now, and he had the edge on his sister in terms of physical strength and creative thinking. She let the tussle continue for about a minute before pointedly clearing her throat._

 _Matching sets of black eyes instantly shot towards her, the twins freezing in place with Akari's hand fisted around a chunk of Masaru's hair and Masaru's mouth just about to clamp shut around his sister's leg. Within seconds the twins had seated themselves at the table, their faces placid and innocent as they looked at their mother expectantly. The effect was slightly mitigated by their rumpled clothing and tousled hair._

 _Also, Akari's hand was still stuck in Masaru's hair, too deeply ensnared to free itself in such a short time frame, so he had his neck bent at a near ninety-degree angle while Akari's arm hovered awkwardly at her side._

 _Ryoko, ever polite and mature, calmly reached for the camera she kept on the table just for such moments and snapped a photo. Only then did she break into boisterous laughter, making the twins scowl and grumble as they proceeded to extract themselves from the tangle they'd created._

 _"I'm sorry, you two are just too adorable," she chuckled, her laughter tapering off as she smiled fondly at the pair. "I just can't help it. Whenever I see you act like that, I can't help but think how much I love you."_

 _"Mom, why did you want us if we're not in trouble?" Masaru asked, just a little uncomfortable by the sudden heavy sentimentality. Ryoko blinked and her smile faded, her face growing more serious. The shift caused the twins to pause, their earlier playful mood vanishing as they looked at her with earnest attention._

 _"Right... You two will be starting your second year at the academy in a few days, so I think it's time to have a proper talk about this before others can start trying to fill your minds with different ideas."_

 _Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply through her nose before exhaling quietly through her mouth. When her eyes opened again they had changed to the bloody scarlet of the Sharingan, making the twins instantly stiffen in surprise._

 _"The Sharingan, as you know, is an exclusive trait of the Uchiha clan," she began. "It gives us many advantages in battle and is one of the most feared kekkei genkai in existence. However, while most of our clan views it as an accomplishment and celebrates its activation as a coming of age, I believe it is something more tragic." Her expression softened even as her eyes remained scarlet, her small frown gaining a more melancholic edge._

 _"You see, the Sharingan is activated by intense emotion. Sometimes that emotion is a positive one, but more often than not it is brought on by something darker—most commonly, the loss, or the_ potential _for loss, of one's comrades on the battlefield. I disagree with our clan's glorification of it because it doesn't solely mark one's skill. It is a physical manifestation of intense trauma."_

 _Her next words cut into Masaru sharply, deeply imprinting on his memory:_

 _"The earlier one awakens it, the more pain they'll have to endure."_

 **BA-BUMP.**

Masaru felt his lips move and Gaara stopped laughing. _What?_ he mouthed, and Masaru's mouth moved again. The deranged smile faded, replaced initially by shock before his face twisted into a furious snarl. _What are you talking about? You're the one who knows nothing!_ Masaru just shook his head only to wince, feeling the cold _tap-tap-tap_ of the severed fingers still ensnared in his hair drumming against his back and shoulders.

He didn't even notice the kunai in his hand until he felt part of the weight suddenly separate from his head, sticky clumps of hair falling limply and tickling part of his neck as the rest of it fell around his feet in a dirty clump. Vacant eyes stared at the mass of gory tangles, flashes of red-soaked white peppering the shorn brown locks.

He raised his gaze once more to regard a more sober-looking Gaara, his expression still hollow. The jinchuuriki regarded him more warily now, the burst of insanity temporarily banished and replaced by a more scornful glare.

 _You know not_ hing," Masaru declared flatly, sound returning halfway through uttering the sentence. "You don't know my mother. You don't know my sister. You don't know anything that happened that day." His fists clenched at his sides as he spoke, his words gradually growing more and more heated as his eyes began to burn more.

 _"However," Ryoko continued, "While the Sharingan stems from emotional pain, that doesn't make it a bad thing."_

 _"What do you mean?" Akari asked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "Didn't you just say it just makes people hurt more?"_

 _"Yes, I did," their mother allowed easily. "But pain and suffering is an unavoidable part of life for a shinobi. We'll always have to deal with loss, and the Sharingan gives us an edge that will make us more viable for battling than others. While the Sharingan does usually trigger in emotional situations, I think there's one other factor people tend to overlook: a resolve to protect those you love."_

 _Her eyes seeped to their natural black hue, her face softening as she offered the twins a gentle smile. "I believe we awaken the Sharingan so we can use its power to protect our precious people. Just like how I love you two."_

"My mother loved us!" Masaru roared, his chakra flaring around him wildly as he took a step forward. "She wasn't always right in the head and she had a lot of problems, and I still don't understand everything she did in the end, but _she loved us_! She would never kill Akari!"

"You're nothing but a fool," Gaara growled, sand rising around him and shooting towards Masaru. The Uchiha deftly avoided it and charged towards Gaara, rapidly flashing through unfamiliar hand seals as the back of his neck burned. Sucking in a large breath, he spewed a stream of fire hotter than any he'd blown before, the inferno spinning and unfurling to take the shape of a dragon. Rage and adrenaline fueled the flames to burn even hotter, the hue rapidly shifting from red to blinding white.

Soaring towards the sky, the dragon released a crackling roar and dove at where Gaara stood, incinerating the trees and soil around the Sand genin. Masaru could feel the residual heat sear against his skin, his eyes stinging and his lids reflexively sealing shut as the natural moisture evaporated. The last wisp of embers left his lips and his hands fell from the seal to dangle limply at his sides, his knees giving out as he fell to the ground and the sounds of the world grew muffled once more.

(Strange, the tingling on his neck stopped...)

As the snow-colored inferno faded, he could see a large dome of sand surrounding the spot where Gaara had been standing, the surface appearing slightly hardened by the heat. Slowly it began to crack and crumble, large chunks falling away to reveal a _furious_ Gaara glaring at him from within its shadows. Masaru should probably run now, but he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't even muster the energy needed to be scared, that jutsu had almost completely sapped his chakra and physical energy.

(What _was_ that, anyway?)

(Forget it, too tired to care.)

Kunai suddenly flew towards Gaara and his sand rose to shield him, blocking him from sight. Wooden pillars erupted from the ground and tried to twirl around Gaara, the boy's body shifting and morphing into an inhuman form as his eyes sparkled with _madness_ , but Masaru heard none of it, his vision already dimming. Someone grabbed his shoulders and spun him around and suddenly he found himself face to face with Sakura, her green eyes sparkling with concern.

' _He's in the beginning stages of chakra exhaustion,_ ' she mouthed to someone behind her. ' _Please tell me you have a chakra pill?_ '

Dust kicked up around them as the earth shook violently, and Masaru's eyes flickered to the side to see Gaara's body distorting into an increasingly monstrous form. He swatted at trees with a silent laugh, a familiar blur of blue and black charging at him with bright white sparking around his hand. Sasuke buried lightning into Gaara's side and the boy-monster's face contorted in agony and shock, his mouth ripping open.

 _ROAAAAAAR!_

Sound abruptly returned as Gaara screamed in pain, an inhuman screech that made everyone in the area wince and cover their ears. Masaru cried out as he squeezed his hands around his ears, the shockwave from the screech nearly knocking him away. Apparently he actually had some hearing in his right ear after all, because it _throbbed_ from the volume of the shriek. Naruto's startled scream zipped over him briefly as he was flung through the air above them in an orange blur.

A glance over his shoulder revealed Gaara had begun to transform, the sand clinging to his body morphing and changing into a form closer to the tanuki he housed. His eyes looked even more deranged than before, black seeping into them as his irises took on a gold star shape. "YOU HURT ME!" he screamed over the ringing in Masaru's ears. " _YOU HURT ME!_ "

A tidal wave of sand rushed towards Sasuke and he barely managed to evade it, leaping out of its path as it barreled into a tree behind him. Deafening crashes echoed loudly as it fell into the neighboring trees like dominoes, the sound only amplifying as a giant puff of smoke appeared to reveal a _giant_ toad. Masaru just stared at it numbly, vaguely registering Naruto's distant yells from atop its head goading it to attack.

Too much. It was all too much. His vision dimmed as he fell to his side, Sakura's horrified shouts fading until only absolute silence remained. After what felt like anywhere from a few seconds to a few hours a soft sigh sounded nearby, footsteps lightly padding towards him.

" _Masaru, open your eyes._ "

His eyes slid open obediently and he slowly sat up, glancing around blearily. A black void surrounded him stretching as far as the eye could see, white flames flickering in the distance. Apparitions of gray-tinted corpses scattered the landscape around him, faces frozen in perpetual agony as black tomoe lay motionless against silvery irises.

Three bodies stood out in particular, encased in a bright glow, and Masaru staggered to his feet and stumbled towards the nearest one. Colorless skin had been charred and darkened by fire, the full-face mask ripped to reveal a pained grimace while the edges of the fabric melded onto the man's skin. Masaru gazed at his look of deathly suffering with absolutely apathy, his own eyes hollow and glazed as he studied the body.

 _Ah,_ he thought. These must be the men he'd killed.

Masaru hadn't seen much detail of the body as it fell from his fireball, but then, he'd seen enough death to fill in the gaps. These bodies were little more than a morbid collage generated by his mind of all the other deaths he'd seen in his short life. He recognized the burns scarring his mouth from Uchiha Subaru's corpse, the glazed eyes from a corpse he and Kiba had passed while trying to track Hinata.

"Sorry," he commented dully. "I just brought more corpses."

"It's okay. They wanted to hurt you, so I don't mind." A small figure glided into his line of sight, a peachy-colored hand poking at the patchwork body with a sort of morbid curiosity. "It'll probably change if you see the actual corpse."

"Probably," Masaru agreed blandly, and the figure huffed slightly before turning to look at him, revealing a gaping, bleeding maw in the space once occupied by a right eye.

"You're such an annoying brother sometimes, Masaru."


	38. Chapter 37: Noise and Silence

Chapter 37

* * *

 _"Sometimes, I don't know which is worse: too much noise, or too much silence. Curse these sensitive ears."_

* * *

Temari nearly fell back when the dragon appeared in the sky, its white form blocking the sun and casting a bright, flickering shadow over the forest. "Holy shit," Kankurou whispered, paling as he tipped his head back to stare at it.

"Oi, brats, don't lose your footing!" one of the ninken barked, drawing the siblings' attention back to the present. "Boss'll probably be here any minute now, and when he does you'll need to be ready!"

Its words served as a good anchor point for Temari, the kunoichi quickly sobering and shooting the dog a glare. "I'd still like to know _what_ we're preparing for," she ground out, but all of the canines present in the clearing chose to remain silent, much to her annoyance. Gritting her teeth, she chose to refrain from needling at them and flashed another worried look at the trees, watching the fire fade away.

After meeting with the Leaf group, Kakashi had firmly ordered the two elder Sand Siblings to follow his ninken to the location of some "Nine Ro" thing. They didn't know what that meant, but considering that silver-haired jounin happened to be the infamous Kakashi of the Sharingan, the siblings had decided not to argue. Upon arriving in the clearing they'd found more canines waiting who quickly positioned them atop some nondescript mounds of dirt, with no explanation as to _why_.

Sitting around waiting grated on her nerves. Temari never liked being idle, and to do so while her brother was so close to a rampage...

As if to spurn her thoughts she heard a pained roar from his direction, making her wince. " _Shit,_ " she hissed, her eyes widening as memories of the bloody night from eight years ago flickered to the front of her mind.

"Dammit, he's about to let loose!" Kankurou yelped. "Will this Nine-Ro thing actually work?"

"Eh, probably," one of the dogs snorted. "Worked for the Nine Tails." Both of the Sand Siblings froze and slowly turned to stare at it, their jaws falling open with shock. The other canines also turned to glare at their fellow ninken, making the wolf-like dog wince and shrink back, its ears flattening against its skull.

"The... Nine Tails?" Kankurou repeated, his voice way too high-pitched and quiet. "Y-you mean, like, the _fox_?"

This time none of the dogs responded, leaving the siblings to just stare in horror as they tried to wrap their minds around this. Temari's eyes drifted to her feet, staring at the mound in wonder and horror.

 _What the hell is Nine-Ro!?_

* * *

At thirteen, Masaru could count the number of times he'd woken up in his mindscape on one hand.

While some people would jump at the chance to enter their own mind, Masaru _hated_ it. Phantom corpses of his kinsmen littered the black void almost as far as the eye could see, their monochrome Sharingan eyes staring at the endless darkness. Every time he saw them his stomach would flip and he'd want to cover his eyes, trying to will them to _disappear_ and _go away_ , but they never left. Their constant presence only solidified just how deeply the massacre had scarred him.

It didn't help that he only seemed to enter his mindscape after traumatic events. And right now, having just killed two men in battle, exhausted a good amount of his chakra, and witnessing a jinchuuriki fully transform, he _definitely_ felt more than slightly overwhelmed.

At least he didn't have to go through it alone.

"So, do you wanna talk about it?" Akari asked, tilting her head at him. They sat cross-legged towards the edge of the void, a wall of silvery white flames wreathing them and blocking the corpses from view. Masaru just shrugged, avoiding looking at her.

The Akari his mind conjured looked different from how he'd _like_ to envision her, forever eight and with an empty eye socket weeping black blood which dripped onto her shirt. It hurt to look at he sometimes, to see that gaping hole in her head where her right eye should be. Yet even so she still shined like a beacon of light, the sole spot of color in his monochrome world with her peachy skin and chocolate-colored hair, vibrant violet shirt, and navy capris and sandals.

Shadow or not, as far as Masaru was concerned this Akari was still his sister, even if she was just a broken, twisted version of her produced by his own mind. And just like his sister, she puffed out her cheeks at his obvious avoidance. "Hey, Masaru, don't just shrug and look away! That won't make your problems go away!"

"Is there really a problem, though?" he muttered, reluctantly lifting his eyes towards her.

"Gaara just said mom killed me by cutting off my head," she deadpanned. "How does that make you feel?" Masaru frowned, absently playing with the hem of his shirt as he considered his response.

"I... don't really care," he admitted quietly, his brow burrowing. "He was wrong. Mom wouldn't do that."

Ryoko had so many problems. Every time he thought back to his childhood, he could pick out more and more signs that his mother had not been normal and healthy. But hurting her children? _Never._ She loved them too much to ever harm them; for all her flaws, she never once made him feel scared for his life. She'd kill herself first before touching them.

"Good, so we're on the same page. Now, what about _this_?" Akari shifted to her knees to crawl behind him, poking the freshly shorn ends of his hair. The cut looked and _felt_ noticeably rough, a large chunk chopped out of the center so stray hairs tickled the back of his neck while the rest trailed down his back. "That haircut was pretty sudden. How do you feel about _that_?"

"I guess a little bad," he admitted after a second of hesitation, "but I'm also relieved I don't have to untangle _severed fingers_ from it." Both of them shuddered at that, faces contorting into twin grimaces as they recalled the digits tapping against his back when he'd stood up. Once Masaru woke up for real and had some time for reality to set in he'd probably be a bit more upset about cutting his hair, but right now the lack of _severed fingers_ outweighed any grief he might feel.

Pushing the disturbing thought away, he reclined on his back and tipped his head back to stare at the darkness hanging overhead. "Do you think we'll be okay?"

"Well, yeah. Kakashi's there. He'll protect you, if only so he won't feel even worse about Uncle Obito." She snorted and rolled her eye as she spoke, the gesture reminding Masaru this variation of Akari had a bleeding eye socket. He shuddered and tried to focus on the intact eye.

"Yeah, that's true," he allowed. "Gaku-sensei says he spends a lot of time at the memorial." The brunet had discovered this little factoid while trying to figure out why Kakashi showed up late to his team's meetings every day, mostly because his cousin's constant complaints had started to get on his nerves.

"Tenzo," Akari said with a pointed look, and Masaru looked at her in confusion before realizing she'd been correcting him.

"Right. Tenzo, I guess." Akari always had been quicker to adapt to changes like that. Every year in the academy they'd have to use fake names for a week as practice for espionage missions, and only Akari had managed to never use the wrong name. Everyone else had flubbed and used their peers' real names at least once, but Akari had no trouble adapting to her own alias, even ignoring the teacher when he called her real name as a test.

"Kobayashi Gaku always seemed kinda cheesy to me," his twin's specter mused, her lips curving into an amused smirk. "I mean, _Gaku_? That basically means 'study.' And, well, Kobayashi didn't seem _too_ weird, just a bit more common, but—'little forest'? And he has _mokuton_?" She snickered in a definitively unladylike manner, flashing her teeth in a big grin. "That is so _lazy_! Were they even trying?"

"...Wait." Masaru frowned, his brow pinching together as he recalled something. "Back when I first fought those bandits, when that wooden pillar suddenly slammed one in the jaw. That was _him_."

Akari's peals of laughter abruptly halted as she gawked at him, her lone eye wide in surprise. "Oh. Yeah, I think you're right. Huh. Well, that's one mystery solved, and a million more to go." She waved a hand in a vague sweeping gesture, but quickly grew serious once more. "You can worry about that later. How do you think things will go with Gaara? That roar at the end didn't sound too good. Do you think they'll be able to stop him?"

Masaru frowned, turning his gaze to the white flames next to them as he contemplated the situation. "I don't know. Kakashi-sensei seems to have some kind of plan, but I don't know enough about it to figure out if it'll work. It sounds like they needed to do it in a specific place? Oh, but sensei was there too," he added as an afterthought. "And I think the mokuton can control Tailed Beasts? So they have that going for them at least."

"And also that giant toad Naruto summoned," Akari added, a mischievous gleam in her eye as she leaned forward. "That thing was _huge_! It can probably stomp Gaara into dust with a couple hops!" Her voice took on a sort of sadistic glee that only eight-year-olds could feel, no doubt amused by the cartoonish image the description conjured, but her smile faded almost instantly as Masaru's face quickly darkened.

"If Gaara hurts Naruto..." His eyes narrowed, bleeding bright red as the Sharingan swirled to life.

" _I'll make sure he regrets it._ "

* * *

Kakashi cursed as he lunged forward, scooping Masaru off the forest floor. Chakra exhaustion had clearly taken its toll on the boy; he looked far paler than usual, even by the Uchiha clan's normally pasty standards. Considering he'd just performed what could easily be classed as a B-rank jutsu, Kakashi didn't find it too surprising he'd passed out.

Brushing some of the hair away from Masaru's neck so he could check his pulse, he paused and his eyes narrowed sharply. A single kanji had been printed on the nape of his neck, the black ink standing in stark contrast to his pale skin: " _Hope_."

No wonder Ryoko hadn't prepared a memento for him. She'd skipped the middle man and placed the seal directly onto him.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called as she rushed to their side, her expression frantic with panic and fear. She stumbled to a stop as she caught sight of Masaru cradled in his arms, what little color remained draining from her face. "Is he—he's going to be okay, isn't he?" Kakashi didn't respond right away, pressing his fingers against Masaru's neck.

"It's a bit slow, but his pulse is there. He should be fine with some rest, it's just exhaustion." As he spoke Sasuke arrived onto the scene, skidding to a stop a few feet away and staring at his cousin with increasingly obvious horror.

"That dragon," he whispered. "Was... Was that—? _How_?" His question had its merits. People didn't just spontaneously learn or develop high-level ninjutsu out of the blue like that, it required a certain degree of training. At the very least, Kakashi was pretty sure _someone_ would notice a dragon made of white fire snaking into the sky at some point.

 _Then again,_ he thought with a discreet glance at the kanji on Masaru's neck, _Masaru probably didn't know he could do that either._ He didn't know if it was _possible_ to encode knowledge of a jutsu into a seal, but at this point it made more sense than any of the other alternatives. Jiraiya would go crazy once he heard about this; the man wasn't exactly fanatical about fuinjutsu like Minato-sensei had been, but he did enjoy little surprises and mysteries like this.

For now though, Kakashi decided to keep his suspicions to himself. "Most likely, yes. But more importantly, we need to move." He glanced at Gamabunta as he spoke, the giant toad towering far above the trees with the thick foliage shrouding his full form from sight. Several years had passed since the last time Kakashi had seen the chief of the Toad Summons, and thinking back that night hadn't been very pleasant either.

Some sort of irony existed there, he thought distantly. Last time Minato had summoned Gamabunta to fight the Kyuubi, and now his son had done the same to fight the Ichibi. Right now he had no time to muse over it though, he had a group of teenagers counting on him to keep them alive and a village to save.

"For now, we'll continue to act under the assumption that Nine-Ro is still in motion," he declared, adjusting his hold on Masaru to properly support his neck. "Sakura, you're with me. Sasuke, I want you to stay behind and see if you can help Naruto."

" _What!?_ " Sasuke blurted, his features contorting in shock and rage. "But—but _why_? I mean, wouldn't I be more useful—just—" He shot his unconscious cousin a desperate look, his concern clearly etched on his face. Kakashi's own features softened slightly, but his voice held that same, cool edge as he responded.

"I understand your concerns, but this is the best division of our current resources. Nine-Ro happens to require a certain amount of chakra from the participants, and you've already depleted a decent portion of your reserves by using the Chidori earlier. Along with not using as much chakra today, Sakura also has better control, so the drain is less likely to impact her. Beyond that, Gaara seems to be targeting you, so we may need you to act as bait if Naruto can't convince Gamabunta to steer him that direction.

"On that note," he added almost as an afterthought, "Naruto appears to be losing." His words gave the two genin pause, and they turned to look at the giant toad looming nearby. Angry yells drifted from the top of his head as a familiar orange blob bounced around, and while they couldn't hear what was being said, the toad's irritation gave them a pretty good idea.

"...So basically, we're counting on _Naruto_ to convince the giant toad to help?" Sakura asked flatly, and Kakashi rewarded her with a cheery eye-smile.

"Pretty much."

"Sasuke-kun, _please_ help Naruto!" she pleaded, spinning to face her teammate with an interesting blend of frantic desperation and bland dismay on her face. "He can't even get along with half the ninja in the village! No way he can talk a stubborn toad into taking on the _Ichibi_ on his own!"

"Fine, I'll go help," Sasuke agreed with a sigh, and shot Kakashi a pointed glare. "But if anything happens to Masaru—"

"I swear on all of the names on the memorial stone, I will make sure nothing happens to Masaru," the jounin cut in solemnly, and his students looked startled by his words. After a moment Sasuke seemed to decide that to be sincere enough, as he gave a brisk nod before racing off towards Gamabunta.

 _Well, I hope this works,_ Kakashi thought blandly as he watched his student leave. Frankly, he thought Sasuke might actually be _worse_ at diplomacy than Naruto given his naturally broody disposition. Kami knows the boy lacked any people skills. At this point he was counting more on Sasuke somehow inciting some of that powerful charisma Naruto surely inherited from Minato-sensei, giving Naruto the last boost needed to persuade Gamabunta to help.

For now though he turned to his remaining student. "Let's go," he said, and Sakura bobbed her head before following him deeper into the forest.

* * *

To call Uzumaki Naruto infuriated would be an understatement.

A giant toad grumbled beneath him, a giant fox roared inside him, and a half-formed Tanuki shrieked in front of him. His own voice only added to the cacophony of rage and anger filling his ears, tears of frustration threatening to spill.

"Come _on_!" he screamed at Gamabunta. " _Lives_ are at stake here! Just hurry up and _help me, dammit_!"

"And for the last time, _I don't care_!" the great toad bellowed irritably. "The Toads have no loyalty to Konoha! We swear our lives to those who contract with us, and I have _not_ accepted you as my contractor!"

Naruto almost _screamed_ at his continued stubborn refusal, seething with barely repressed rage. He knew that the damn toad hadn't been too fond of him the first time he summoned him, but right now they needed to fight Gaara! Every second they wasted arguing was another second closer to the Ichibi being released, its chakra leaking and filling the air with nauseous energy.

Worse yet, Naruto could feel the fox respond to that chakra, struggling for control even more than usual. He ground his teeth as he fought to keep his emotions under control, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. His mind flickered to Masaru's face as his clones burst onto the scene, the fierce resolve that had filled his eyes before fading to something deader as the white fire dragon fizzled out.

Masaru... He had been the first one to treat Naruto like a friend. Sure, he was awkward at times, and he could get kinda scary when he was mad. And yeah, he let down Naruto once, and he might never get over that. But even so, he had been the first person Naruto could really, _truly_ call a friend. The first person to ever smile at him besides Jiijii and old man Teuchi and Ayame-nee-chan, and genuinely _mean_ it.

 _Funny... Gaara made him cry, so I should be mad, right? So why do I just feel sad?_

For all the danger the Ichibi posed, Naruto couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pity for Gaara. One of the clones he'd sent after their group encountered Gaara's siblings had arrived just in time to overhear a good chunk of his speech about his childhood, and while Naruto hadn't heard _all_ of it—the clone arrived at the part where he mentioned his mom cursing his name—he'd heard enough to see the similarities.

Memories of empty playgrounds and harsh whispers surfaced in his mind, his heart lurching with loneliness and longing as he'd watch other kids walk with their parents or play with their friends. Just like Gaara, he, too, had grown up alone, hated and feared for something he couldn't control. People looked at him and saw a demon rather than its container, and treated him as such.

 _In another world... Could I have been like Gaara?_

" _Naruto!_ "

Sasuke's voice drew him out of his reveries and he snapped his head to the side to see his teammate standing atop a nearby tree, watching him with an almost manic look. Naruto gave a start at the sight, blinking a few times to see if he would disappear. "S-Sasuke?" he sputtered. "Wh-what are you—"

"What are you doing!?" Sasuke called, cupping his hands around his mouth to carry his voice further.

"Tch, another brat?" Gamabunta grumbled, eying the newcomer with disdain. Sasuke's face just grew more steely at the insult, his lips pulling back in a scowl.

"Hey! Why aren't you helping? Don't you care at all that a freaking _Tailed Beast_ is about to go on a rampage!?" He gestured wildly to Gaara as he spoke, his Sharingan spinning wildly. The screaming had tapered off at this point, but with each passing second the sand tanuki just grew larger and larger, edging ever closer to completion. Gaku/Tenzo's wood stuff seemed to slow the transformation, but it wouldn't work forever.

"Not my problem," the toad huffed. "I can just go back to Mount Myoboku when he snaps." Naruto squawked in disbelief atop his head while Sasuke shot him a look of utter disgust. Words seemed to fail him, but fortunately, they did not fail Naruto for long.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" he exploded. "Come _on_ already! I signed the dumb contract and _everything_! You're supposed to work for me now!"

"Just because you had enough chakra to summon me doesn't mean I'll automatically accept you as my partner. Summons aren't slaves, we have a choice in who we work with! And right now, I don't see any point in risking my life for some _stupid brats_!"

Naruto couldn't even form a coherent sentence, he just started screaming wordlessly in utter exasperation. Down on the branch Sasuke didn't look much better, his eyes glowed bright red as he glowered at the toad with an even angrier scowl than usual. "You might not like Naruto, but you work for Jiraiya, don't you!?" he questioned hotly. "I don't think _he'd_ want Konoha destroyed either!"

Gamabunta shifted so suddenly Naruto lost his footing and fell on his butt, the toad sharply turning to lean closer to his teammate. Sasuke winced and staggered back under the abrupt intensity in the toad's eyes, his body visibly tensing and paling as he stared at him.

"Do not assume you can speak on behalf of my contractors, brat," Gamabunta warned, his entire body vibrating from the low note his voice took. "You are _children_ , nothing more. I have no respect for those who carelessly throw around the names of others because they lack the strength to fight their own battles."

He pulled back and the Uchiha remained rooted to his spot in a stunned stupor, unable to look away. Rubbing his butt as he sat on Gamabunta's head, Naruto's brow furrowed as he thought over the toad's words. No respect for those who throw around names, huh...

"Hey, Gamabunta," he said lowly. "Did I ever introduce myself?"

"What?" the toad huffed. "What're you rambling on about now, brat?" Naruto jumped to his feet and began running down the length of Gamabunta's head, his eyes gleaming with newfound determination.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" he shouted. "I like ramen and my teammates Sakura and Sasuke, even if Sasuke's a bastard! I dislike people who hurt my friends and the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook!" He leaped onto the branch where Sasuke stood, nearly losing his footing as he landed but thankfully Sasuke grabbed his arm to steady him. Naruto flashed his teammate a grateful grin before he spun around to face Gamabunta directly.

"And my dream is to be Hokage!" he proclaimed loudly. "Do you know what being the Hokage means? That means I have to protect my village no matter what! And that guy back there?" He jabbed a finger towards the sand beast directly behind him, which had nearly finished its transformation at this point. "Right now he's gonna destroy Konoha unless we do something!"

Gamabunta's eyes narrowed, huffing under his breath. "And? If you're gonna be the Hokage, then why can't _you_ stop it?"

"Because—" Naruto stopped abruptly and frowned, his gaze falling to his feet. A sense of self-loathing washed over him, and he sucked in a sharp breath and forced himself to admit, "Because I'm not _strong enough_ , dammit! Someday I'll be the Hokage, hell, I'll die to protect Konoha if that's what it takes to protect it! But right now I don't have the power to fight a Tailed Beast! But I at least know we can stop it!

"And it's not just for Konoha's sake!" he added heatedly, his fists clenching at his sides so tight he could feel his nails dig into his palms. "Right now Gaara's suffering too! I don't know the full story, but I know enough to get that he's only this way because everyone treated him like a monster! He didn't _ask_ to have the Ichibi sealed inside him, dammit! Just like I didn't ask the Fourth Hokage to _seal the damn Kyuubi in me either!_ "

Tears stung his eyes as Naruto nearly spat the last words, years of isolation and abuse gathering and spilling loose into that one spiteful sentence. Next to him he could see Sasuke recoil in shock, making a choked noise that might be a gasp, but Naruto paid him no mind. He focused solely on Gamabunta, his teeth grinding painfully as he willed himself to calm down.

"I can't beat him, even with this stupid fox inside me," he continued, his voice bordering on a growl, "but _you_ can at least get him over to the place so we can take him down. And that's why..." He trailed off, sucking in a deep breath before dipping into a deep bow. "Please, just help me out! You can yell at me all you want later—hell, I'll tape it and play it in my room for five days straight if you want me to! But right now I just need you to do this _one_ thing. I can't let anyone else get hurt because of Gaara."

 _And I can't let Gaara suffer anymore, either._

"Please," he choked out, his voice rough and scratchy.

A small intake of breath sounded next to him, Sasuke whispering something under his breath he couldn't hear, but still Naruto remained bowed, waiting for Gamabunta's response. A heavy silence fell over the clearing, time seeming to tick by ever so slowly. Finally though, after what seemed like an eternity, he heard the great toad huff a large sigh.

"Where to?" he questioned, and Naruto snapped his head up in surprise, his eyes wide.

"W-what?"

"Where to?" Gamabunta repeated. "You said there's a place I need to get him, right?" Naruto's eyes grew wider and his face lit up in a grin, bobbing his head eagerly.

"Yeah!" He quickly leaped back onto Gamabunta's head, whirling around to survey the surrounding forest before pointing at a tall tree which loomed less than a mile away. It stood in sharp contrast to the rest of the forest as one half of it had lost its leaves, the jagged branches stark and bare, while the other half was lush with thick foliage. "There! See that tall tree, the one that's half dead? That's where you need to go!"

"Interesting," Gamabunta rumbled, smirking at the tree with a speculative gleam in his eye. "Brat, you might wanna get off my head while I handle this. This is gonna be messy."

"Got it, Gamabunta! Thanks!" Naruto grinned as he quickly descended down the toad's side, sliding down his front leg before flipping onto the ground. Sasuke followed in short order, landing next to him and looking at him with a strange, intense look that made Naruto wince.

"Naruto," he started, and hesitated. "I—" He cut himself off with a shout as Gamabunta suddenly sprung towards Gaara, the force of his leap shaking the earth and sending the two genin tumbling to the ground. An inhuman roar echoed from the tanuki as he collided into it, but Gamabunta just bellowed back with a resounding croak as he pushed it away. Trees snapped and fell like twigs as the two giants wrestled, cutting a path of destruction through the forest as the toad pushed the tanuki towards the tree Naruto indicated.

Naruto and Sasuke just listened idly from their spots on the ground as the battle moved away, the exhaustion from the near nonstop running finally catching up to them. Their muscles felt sore and protested the mere thought of getting up, and for once they decided to just give in to their tiredness, mainly because they knew they couldn't really do anything else at this particular moment.

Now that the initial adrenaline had worn off, Naruto dreaded how Sasuke would react to his big reveal during his monologue. Of all the people to find out first, Sasuke had not been at the top of the list. Would he tell Masaru and Sakura? Would they all call him a demon and hate him too? Or maybe—

"...What is Nine Ro, anyway?" Sasuke mumbled tiredly and Naruto flinched, rolling his head to stare at his teammate in shock.

"What—I just admitted I have a freaking fox sealed inside me, and _that's_ what you want to ask!?" he sputtered in disbelief. Not that he was complaining, but... _Seriously!?_ Sasuke just grunted, lazily shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you _want_ me to ask about that?" he deadpanned, and Naruto opened his mouth to snap back with a witty retort before stopping. No, no he did not. When it became clear he wouldn't respond, Sasuke continued, "I just found out jinchuuriki are a thing, one of my teammates is one with the goddamn _kyuubi_ sealed inside him, and—" Sasuke abruptly stopped and his face scrunched up in pain, making Naruto's stomach sink.

"S-Sasuke?" he whispered, dreading what could be going through his mind.

"...He wasn't lying, was he?" Sasuke whispered and Naruto frowned, squinting at his teammate in confusion.

"About what?"

"...What he said to Masaru." His words took a second to register, and then comprehension suddenly settled in. Oh.

 _Oh._

He remembered Sasuke had run a bit ahead of the group too at one point, so he must have overheard the stuff Gaara ranted about Masaru's mom cutting off Akari's head too. That... Naruto didn't even want to _think_ about that. He knew that something bad went down with the Uchiha clan, even if he didn't know the full details, but _that_? That was just too messed up.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But, Masaru said his mom wouldn't do that, right? And he knows her better than us. So I guess I'll just trust him for now!" He offered Sasuke a bright grin, trying to reassure him even as doubt swirled inside him. The way Kakashi-sensei reacted to hearing Gaara got Akari's file, well, even Naruto could tell there was something really bad. Still, he didn't let his worry show, and just plastered on the most confident smile he could muster.

Sasuke stared at him for a long moment before rolling his head to look at the sky, his face blank and tired. "...This is officially one of the worst days of my life," he declared flatly, and Naruto's smile fell as he sighed.

"Tell me about it," he grumbled, and the two fell silent.

* * *

Crashing through the trees, Kakashi felt indescribable relief at seeing Temari and Kankurou already in place atop two of the dirt mounds, saving him some of the trouble. Several of the ninken instantly flocked to his side, sniffing at Masaru worriedly. "Boss, what happened?" Pakkun questioned. Kakashi grunted, already carefully shifting the unconscious boy onto Bull's back.

"No time for details, but Masaru passed out from chakra exhaustion. Bull, Pakkun, get him somewhere safe." Ideally, he should _probably_ move Masaru a bit further away and get an expert to look at the seal on his neck ASAP, but right now he had bigger issues at hand. _Bigger_ meaning a giant sand tanuki due to barrel their direction any moment. Time was simply not on his side right now.

"Got it, boss!" Pakkun affirmed with a nod, and the two took off deeper into the forest, Masaru securely draped over Bull's back.

"So Gaara _didn't_ crush him?" Kankurou asked as the dogs departed, sounding almost wondrous at the thought of someone escaping an encounter with his brother physically unscathed. Kakashi shot him an unimpressed look but nodded curtly.

"No, he didn't," he confirmed flatly, and turned to greet his female student as she _finally_ caught up, her face red and her breathing ragged as she halted next to him. She clearly looked physically exhausted, but given he'd been running close to his _actual_ full speed Kakashi didn't count it against her. Genin simply lacked the stamina and speed to keep up with a full-fledged jounin.

Placing his hands on her shoulders, he quickly steered her into the clearing towards one of the mounds. "Sakura, take position on the mound over... here." He released his grip once she stood in place, and quickly jumped back to land atop the last mound before turning to face the trio of genin. "I'm going to show you the hand seals we'll need to use. Watch closely, it doesn't use traditional hand seals so they'll probably be unfamiliar."

"You know, you don't have the right to order us around," the puppeteer—Kankurou, if he recalled—growled irritably, but nonetheless he still raised his hands to mimic the sequence. Kakashi performed it slowly, watching closely as the three genin copied it, and thankfully they managed to get it down pretty fast.

"What does Nine-Ro even _do_?" Sakura asked as he checked her hands to make sure they had the proper posturing. Her voice took on a note of desperation and curiosity, and the two Sand ninja flashed him silent looks conveying similar sentiments.

"We don't have enough time for a full explanation, but to sum it up, it's a seal array meant to suppress jinchuuriki if the seals are ever compromised." he told them carefully. "The exact mechanics behind it are a bit... complicated."

A loud series of crashes interrupted him before he could continue, and all of them turned to watch as birds flew away above the tree line. A moment later Tenzo barreled into the clearing, his lips pulled into a grim frown. "They're on their way," he warned, and Kakashi nodded before turning to the apprehensive genin.

"We're out of time," he declared gravely. "Looks like we'll have to settle for a practical demonstration instead."


	39. Chapter 38: End to Chaos

Chapter 38

* * *

 _"All things come to an end. Even the most chaotic and awful days end sometime."_

* * *

Fifty-six years ago, Uzumaki Mito sealed the Kyuubi into herself.

Sealing Tailed Beasts _had_ been done before, so the Uzumaki kunoichi had some records of those seals to aid her in her endeavor. Normally they had been sealed into inanimate objects rather than people, though. A few attempts _had_ been done to seal them into humans, but those attempts had ended rather poorly for the would-be host. Inevitably their bodies would be unable to withstand the strain and the seal would break, killing the would-be host and freeing the beast within.

Moreover, none of the Tailed Beasts in those experiments had been as strong as the Nine-Tailed Fox. The greatest one was the Sanbi—the Three-Tailed Turtle—and its host had died within two months of receiving the seal.

Still, even knowing this, Mito chose to seal the fox into herself anyway. She saw no other option to end its rampage under Madara's control, and so she turned her body into a vessel for the demon fox. Her knowledge of previous hosts' fates couldn't prepare her for the sheer agony awaiting her, though.

Adding a volatile chakra like the Nine-Tailed Fox's to an already matured chakra system seemed straining enough on paper, but the reality proved even worse than expected. Corrosive demonic chakra burned through her veins like fire, indescribable agony flooding her as she crawled along the ground of a clearing far from the city.

A lesser woman would have probably perished, losing consciousness from the pain and allowing the seal to break, but not Mito.

Paintbrush in hand, she began etching seals into the ground, her face twisted in firm concentration. For days she toiled on her second masterpiece under the close watch of her husband's most trusted family members. Every night she would rest for a few precious hours in the safety of a tree grown by her beloved husband, the latent traces of his chakra present within the branches soothing the overwhelming agony consuming her just enough to sleep. Then at dawn she would wake up and resume her work once more.

At one point her brother-in-law, Tobirama, tried to offer to take over the work, but Mito slapped his hand away before he could take the brush.

"No," she snarled, her eyes flashing red and her hair rising as she glared at him. "I made this seal, only I can do this."

Two weeks after sealing the Fox inside herself, Mito finally completed her latest masterpiece: a fuinjutsu array specifically designed to fix the jinchuuriki seal. With its completion, the physical pain lessened and she could finally work on adjusting the actual containment seal on her body, trusting the array to correct any errors she may make without the beast breaking free.

Since then, the array had been passed down from generation to generation, maintained and modified by various fuinjutsu masters in the event the jinchuuriki may lose control. Only a few people knew of its existence at a time, even the Third Hokage only being informed about it by Mito after taking the hat. Throughout her life she would continue to tweak with her creation in her free time, adjusting and perfecting it up until the final day before transferring her burden to Kushina.

Kushina spent her first two weeks as a jinchuuriki within that same array as her own coils adapted to her new occupant, and she used that time to study her predecessor's work. Over the coming years she, too, would take up working on the array in her free time, tweaking it periodically. Not too often—she had a busy life running missions _outside_ the village—but when she became pregnant with Naruto and had been forced to stay in Konoha at all times...

Well, she got a bit bored.

As her official assigned bodyguard, that meant Kakashi became one of the very few people to know of the array's existence as well. "Too bad I can't give birth in here," Kushina commented idly to her teenage guard as she sat in the clearing, scribbling theoretical patterns in a notebook. "This thing's pretty much rock solid at this point. We wouldn't have to worry about old fuzzbutt breaking free any time soon, dattebane!"

"Why don't you, then?" the ever-serious Kakashi questioned, and she flashed him a toothy grin as she rubbed her swollen stomach.

"Well, see, childbirth kinda weakens the seal, y'know? So basically, if I tried to give birth in here, the array would act up and, then—blam!" She pounded a fist into her hand. "Baby Naruto gets sealed up too!" Pausing, her smile transformed into a look more akin to idle horror as she began rambling, "What would even happen then, anyway? Would he just get stuck in the seal with the fox? I mean, that's pretty horrible on its own, but _what if_ —"

Long story short, that particular conversation left Kakashi mildly traumatized and _very_ thankful he was _not_ female and would _never_ need to deal with childbirth. He did his best to push that topic to the back of his brain, but the rest of that conversation became relevant once more when the Kyuubi broke loose.

As an infant, Naruto had none of the issues with his chakra coils adapting to the addition of the fox's chakra that his predecessors had, his infant coils absorbing it like a sponge. However, while it had not been necessary then, the array never fully left the Third Hokage's mind. As one of the few people informed about it he assigned Kakashi to be responsible for it in the event of an emergency, which in turn meant that the ANBU team under his command, Team Ro, would also be in charge of it.

In one world, the array would never be used. It would be destroyed along with a large swathe of Konoha in the massive destruction caused by Pain's invasion, nothing but a memory that no one ever truly recalled.

In this world, however, it would unfortunately see one usage before Naruto even left the academy. The incident would be classified, the list of those aware expanding to include three more names, all of whom would forever know the array by the codename "Nine-Ro."

And now, it would see a second usage.

"When I give the signal, use the hand seals I showed you and direct your chakra your into the ground," Kakashi ordered the trio of genin. "The array won't need much, but it will still be a bit more draining than what you're used to, so be ready." The trio stiffened but quickly nodded, raising their hands in the beginning seal with faces full of equal parts resolve and apprehension.

Kakashi took a deep breath as he listened to the giants' battle draw closer, his heart pounding with an unusual harshness when he glimpsed the tanuki's head above the top of the trees. He glanced at Tenzo and made eye contact for a second, and his subordinate gave a small nod. It gave him a subtle sense of reassurance, and he nodded back before yelling, " _Go!_ "

As one all four shinobi began flashing through the sequence Kakashi had hoped to never use again, and slammed their hands onto the ground. Glowing lines appeared through the dirt as their meager chakra reserves began to filter into the ground, triggering a network of intricate seals which quickly rippled around the clearing to form a large circle. The moment Gaara tumbled into it, the earth exploded with a blast of blinding light and he released the most agonized and monstrous screech yet.

Even as the beast staggered Tenzo began flashing through his own sequence of hand seals, causing wooden pillars to sprout and bind Gaara to the ground just before he began writhing. Truth be told, the seal array did not _require_ a mokuton user, but it made things easier. Usually the apparatus caused an unbearable amount of pain which tended to cause a lot of struggling—and of course, a tailed beast struggling meant a lot of damage.

Given the fact that the array had been specifically designed for the seals used on the three Kyuubi jinchuuriki rather than Gaara's obviously shoddy mess, his response would probably be even _more_ painful.

The earth rumbled as the giant monster thrashed violently against its restraints, its agonized wails no doubt sounding all across Konoha. Tenzo clenched his jaw tight as he funneled more chakra into the wooden constructs so they wouldn't break under the might of its struggles, willing it to overpower the volatile energy Shukaku exerted. Temari and Kankurou winced as Gaara released another roar, shooting Kakashi a panicked look, but Sakura...

Sakura just seemed awestruck.

...Why did Kakashi suddenly feel worried?

He pushed the thought out of his mind and focused on the sight in front of him, watching as glowing seals steadily crept up Gaara's sand shell. Frankly, this was a big gamble, but already he could see glowing markings climb the sides of the sand beast, attempting to tame the unfamiliar seal. As they began to prod his chakra Gaara released another screech, this one echoing far beyond Konoha's walls.

* * *

The first sign that Orochimaru's plans had started to fall apart came when the barrier vanished.

The second sunlight spilled through the trees—bright and unfiltered by the dark, miasma-like violet material of the barrier—he knew that something had gone horribly wrong. Breaking it externally would be nearly impossible, which meant one of his guards must have been slain. The Sound Four hardly mattered in the long run, but losing one of his pawns so abruptly grated on Orochimaru's nerves.

When the barrier fell he'd been watching his old teacher and that Rain kunoichi team up against the First Hokage, so that meant the culprit must be the ANBU who had ventured off to fight the Second. The thought made his lips curl with distaste, twisting his torso to look at the fading barrier—

—and felt a blade sharply slide into his side.

Pain exploded in his torso as he instinctively leapt away, the sword blade ripping through his flesh and leaving a large, gory gash in the process. Senju Tobirama stood with a disdainful glower on his face, clutching the bloodied katana with both hands. "What a shame," he remarked flatly. "That was meant to strike your heart."

Orochimaru hissed in pain as he pressed a hand to his side, his white fingers quickly stained red as fresh blood seeped from the wound. " _How?_ " he hissed, glaring venomously at the reanimated Hokage. How had he broken free? He hadn't felt his mind-control seal loosen, the man shouldn't be conscious. Moreover, _where did that sword come from?_

"You placed me with a rather bad opponent," Tobirama replied cryptically. "We had a rather... _enlightening,_ conversation." Orochimaru growled and opened his mouth to respond only to gasp, pressing against the wound with a wince. Cuts usually didn't bother him too much, but this one felt more painful than usual. He couldn't feel any of the telltale symptoms of poison though, and the thought prompted his gaze to turn to the Hokage's new weapon.

Glowing ciphers covered the surface of the silver katana, making his eyes narrow warily. He had no idea what those seals did, but he had a feeling it meant this wound would be far more troublesome than the average one.

He couldn't analyze it for long before Tobirama sheathed the blade and turned to where his brother battled the others, apparently assured Orochimaru wouldn't be an immediate threat. He wasn't wrong; the pain nearly blinded Orochimaru, causing spots to dance across his vision.

Right now, the situation did not look good. While Orochimaru had perfected it, Senju Tobirama had _invented_ the Edo Tensei. If anyone would know ways to circumvent it, it would be him. Sure enough, the former Hokage appeared behind his brother almost instantaneously—probably using Hiraishin, though the agony dulled Orochimaru's usually keen senses so he couldn't see if he _did_ use it—and slammed his hand on the back of his neck, causing Hashirama to lurch and stagger a few steps.

"Tobirama?" he gasped, and Orochimaru grimaced, his muscles locking up.

Shit. Not good.

Ignoring the pain, he tore his hands away from the wound and began flashing through a brief sequence of hand seals. He flashed the last one _just_ as the two Senju brothers turned to him with twin looks of fury, and bright light consumed their bodies. As it faded the corpses of two Sound ninja fell to the tile, rolling over to stare lifelessly at the sky.

The sight of the bodies did not satisfy Hiruzen. No, if anything it _enraged_ him even more, his killing intent spiking to an all-time high. "OROCHIMARUUUU!" he roared, and the Sannin winced, his hand already clutching the still-bleeding wound. Still, his lips curled into a smirk, his eyes flashing with bitter contempt.

"Sorry, sensei, but it appears we'll have to postpone our reunion for another time," he purred, and then slammed a bloodied hand against the tile to summon one of his larger snakes. The serpent's jaws unhinged to swallow him up as it puffed into existence, darting away with the injured Sannin curled in its mouth.

Just before its mouth closed, however, he saw a giant ray of light shoot high into the sky, accompanied by the most unearthly roar _yet_.

At that moment, Orochimaru knew without a doubt the rest of the invasion would fail. He cursed silently, and then hissed when he unintentionally squeezed his wound in his aggravation. Everything had gone wrong, beyond his control.

Suddenly the snake lurched to a stop, nearly throwing him onto his side. As he righted himself the snake released an agonized shriek which reverberated through its entire body, and then—

Black flames penetrated its side, eating through the fleshy walls of its mouth and swiftly spreading to Orochimaru's feet.

A single line of blood trickled from Itachi's right eye as he watched the snake burn, its dying shrieks mingling with the agonized screams of the Sannin inside its mouth and echoing loudly over the roar of the Ichibi. Replacing his borrowed hawk mask, he turned and fled just as the Hokage and Konan arrived on the scene, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

"The hell?" Shikamaru sputtered, freezing in shock as he listened to the roar. Next to him Chouji winced and paled, starting to shake as he pressed closer to the floor.

"Th-that... That's not good, is it?" he whispered, and for once Shikamaru couldn't respond because he really had no idea. Ahead of them Ino hissed in frustration, her eyes hardening as she resumed crawling between the seats.

"Find shinobi, wake them up, spread the message," she chanted under her breath, repeating her father's orders like a mantra to try to block out the monstrous roar. Trying to block out the sounds of metal clashing as the battle resumed around them, the vision of sightless black eyes with the long row of legs of sleeping audience members stretched before her, the smell of bloodshed mingling with the faint lilac perfume she'd sprayed on that morning expecting a peaceful day.

Yamanaka Ino had seen war, and she would never be the same.

* * *

Elsewhere in the village, Kabuto mentally cursed as he hid in the shadows of the alley, blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched his limp arm. Healing would have to wait, using any chakra could alert the horde of Leaf ninja searching the nearby street to his presence. He pressed closer to the wall as he saw the shadow of an ANBU agent pass by, holding his breath until they disappeared from his senses.

From his vantage point he could see the roof of the stadium now noticeably devoid of the purple barrier, and he strongly suspected Orochimaru had not ordered it dispelled. Had the Ichibi not been screaming, he would have heard the death throes of his master's summon and realized the situation to be even worse. As it stood, even without that knowledge, Kabuto could tell the invasion had gone horribly awry.

From the second he launched the Temple of Nirvana jutsu, everything seemed to go wrong. In retrospect, even the fact he'd used that technique had been a signal that it would not be smooth. Originally they'd planned to launch the invasion during Gaara's match with Sasuke, so that he could release the Shukaku in the center of Konoha and cause maximum damage. After Sasuke suddenly departed though, Gaara had grown increasingly unstable. Kabuto had opted to cast the genjutsu when he realized the jinchuuriki would almost certainly abandon his role so he could search for his intended opponent, and sure enough Gaara had left within seconds of casting it.

Still, while the beginning had been bumpy, he hadn't expected things to go wrong so fast. During the invasion he'd been tasked with locating Uchiha Sasuke and capturing him, but before he could even leave the stadium Kabuto found himself ambushed by a large pack of ANBU agents.

Worse yet, _more_ ninja started to join in on the attack as the battle carried on. Kabuto had not expected Gekko Hayate to briefly abandon his own fight while running past him, which resulted in the slash on his arm. Nor had he expected a female ANBU to break away from the group of civilians she'd been helping escort to fling herself at him, joining in the efforts to capture him.

His lips pressed into a firm line as he listened to some of their footsteps draw away from his hiding spot. He had no idea when it happened, as he'd been especially careful to cover his tracks over the past month, but his cover had _clearly_ been compromised. He had no idea how many people knew his identity, severely limiting his ability to move freely, but in the end the number didn't matter.

Weighing his options, he made up his mind and made his way towards the edge of the village. Lord Orochimaru would be displeased with his failure, but as it stood Kabuto had too many eyes watching him. Finding Sasuke under these circumstances without any leads would take far too long, he could make amends later. For now, he would focus on escaping.

* * *

The ongoing fray made it relatively easy for Itachi to cross the village while avoiding detection, ultimately slipping into a trapdoor hidden in the basement of a dilapidated house to enter a long tunnel system. Sagging against the walls tiredly, he tore off the mask and slumped to the ground, allowing his exhaustion to finally exert its claim on him. His eyes slid shut and his head lolled to the side to rest on his shoulder, the muffled roars of the Ichibi fading away as his thoughts began to slow.

Just before sleep could claim him he felt a familiar presence appear within the tunnels, nearly mute footsteps gliding towards him before he heard the quiet shifting of fabric. "You've been quite busy today, haven't you, Itachi-san?"

Itachi grunted softly in response, not bothering to open his eyes. "I defeated Orochimaru," he murmured quietly. "Is that not enough for you, Madara-san?" The elder Uchiha made a deep rumbling sound which could be construed as approval.

"I am pleased, make no mistake. However, you pushed yourself quite far." His voice took on a reprimanding tone, and Itachi didn't bother responding because it was true. He'd pushed the Tsukuyomi further than usual, ultimately compressing five days into the span of three seconds, and he could feel the effects. Combined with the strain of using the Amaterasu, he wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and succumb to sleep.

Obviously his "ancestor" would not leave him in peace, though. Reluctantly he parted his eyelids to find the increasingly-familiar swirling orange mask mere inches away from him as the elder crouched in front of him. The close proximity gave him goose bumps and set him on edge, but at the same time he felt too exhausted to particularly care. "What do you want, Madara?" he questioned tiredly.

"I just want to offer to take you away," his relative replied blithely. "Sleeping in a tunnel is hardly comfortable. There are plenty of inns outside the village with beds. All you have to do is say the word."

A bed sounded _heavenly_ right now, Itachi wouldn't lie. Even during his travels with Kisame they spent most of their time camping, so he did not get many opportunities to sleep in actual beds. Curling up on a soft mattress, nestled in the warmth of actual, freshly-washed blankets—the offer definitely tempted him. However, he had never been one to give into material comforts so easily.

"I can't," he replied simply, his eyes shutting once more. "I still have work to do."

"Sasuke?" the other guessed, and Itachi didn't bother responding. Right now more than anything he wanted to find Sasuke and make sure he was okay; he'd seen enough before joining the fray to figure out Gaara likely wanted to fight his little brother. Obviously, his current exhaustion would not allow him that, though.

His mind flitted back to the Tsukuyomi, the long talks with Senju Tobirama between working on the counter-seal. "Have a mission," he mumbled sleepily. "Can't leave until I finish it."

"Will it interfere with the Akatsuki's directives?"

"No." If anything, Itachi suspected the Akatsuki would approve of the task, though he lacked the energy to go into any proper details. His relative seemed to sense this, because he did not probe for further information.

Instead, Itachi felt something warm envelop his body, and his eyes opened fractionally to find a blanket had been draped over him. The other Uchiha waved a glove hand and a pillow spiraled into existence, dropping to the dirt with a limp _plop_. "Sleep. I'll give you a week to finish your business, and I expect a full report when you do."

The air warped around the other man and his body disappeared into a spiral, and just like that Itachi suddenly found himself alone. Relieved at the reprieve, he allowed himself to fall to the side and let his head hit the pillow, his eyes shutting a final time. Later he would question the sudden show of kindness and apparent concern on the other Uchiha's part, but for now he just succumbed to the welcoming embrace of darkness.

* * *

Deep within the woods near the edge of Konoha Kiba winced and shielded his ears, cursing loudly even though he couldn't hear his own voice over the roaring. Canine-level hearing really backfired sometimes, and the proximity to the source made it worse than usual. Poor Akamaru had it even worse than him; his partner couldn't even move, just cringing and trembling where he stood.

"Come on, buddy," he muttered, scooping up his partner in his arms. He continued to trudge onwards, trying to ignore the throbbing in his ears. Right now, he had bigger priorities he simply couldn't ignore. Namely, Hinata. The distantly familiar citrus scent had faded a while back, but her lavender body soap and lilac shampoo had only grown stronger with each step. Hinata was close, he could feel it, and his pace picked up until he spied a familiar flash of tan through a gap in the trees.

"HINATA!" he called, racing towards her. The girl in question startled and whirled to face him, her pale eyes wide with shock.

"K-Kiba-kun?" she stuttered, her quiet voice barely audible over the continued wailing in the background. He shook his head and tried to ignore the sound as he focused on his teammate, his heart hammering in his chest.

"Hinata, what's going on?" he demanded. "What are you doing all the way out here? Why did you leave the stadium? And who were you with earlier!?" She winced at the barrage of questions, her face averting shamefully to the ground.

"I... Th-that, that is..." She trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut with a small whimper. Kiba's face softened at her obvious discomfort, approaching her with a more gentle look instead of the panicked and furious frown he'd worn earlier.

"Hinata," he said carefully. "I'm sorry if I sound harsh. I'm just—I was just really worried, ya know?" He stepped forward, pressing a hand to her shoulder. "I don't know what went down, but I don't care. I'm just relieved you're okay. I'm on your side, no matter what. Got it?" Blinking in surprise, Hinata looked at his hand and then his face, and after a moment she smiled feebly.

"I... Y-yes, I get it. Thank you, Kiba." Kiba flashed her a toothy grin of his own and pulled away, his hand sliding to clasp hers instead.

"Come on, let's go back to town," he said, turning away. "That roaring is really starting to hurt my ears. I don't think Akamaru's doin' too well either." He glanced at his partner as he spoke, the small canine curled into a tight ball against Kiba's chest as the boy clutched him close with his free arm. Hinata offered the shivering puppy a sympathetic look.

"R-right. Let's... l-let's go." If she seemed strangely hesitant, Kiba decided not to comment, instead choosing to just focus on his relief that she was okay, that she wasn't hurt or in obvious distress.

Today had been so crazy and messed-up, so much had happened in a short time and Hinata's disappearance and the whole "Nine-Ro" thing—he had far too many questions with no answers. Finding Hinata safe and sound overrode any concerns he might have though, and so Kiba decided to refrain from asking any questions as he led her away, even the overwhelming urgent one about the citrus-y scent which had accompanied hers for so long.

As he led her away, he failed to notice Hinata twist her head to look over her shoulder, her pale eyes skimming the trees before settling on a cloaked figure with a red mask. The man gave her a small nod and vanished without so much as a flicker, and Hinata swallowed harshly before turning to focus on her teammate's back once more.

* * *

 **With this, the Chuunin Exams Arc is finally at an end!**

There is _technically_ one more chapter to tie up a certain loose end, but otherwise this arc is done and finished. Now that it's finally done, there's a lot I want to say about this arc. Writing it has been a royal pain, and has gone through NUMEROUS rewrites. I'm particularly pleased with Nine-Ro. I didn't want it to be a machination created and/or fueled by OCs. I wanted it to be an actual canon-compliant possibility and not some convenient plot device pulled out of thin air. I'm satisfied that I accomplished that. So much happened overall though, and this chapter has had so many important events. Nine-Ro has been revealed, Orochimaru's fate is pretty much sealed, Kabuto has no idea, Gekko Hayate is alive, Itachi got a brief visit from Obito, and Hinata... Well. She's met someone interesting.

Here's a fun list of ideas that ALMOST got used, including some that actually got written and discarded:

-Kabuto would have told Masaru about Akari's death instead of Gaara, to try to persuade him into defecting. He also would have told Hinata at the same time, hoping for similar effects. Instead he'd get a fiery punch to the stomach courtesy of one pissed-off Masaru.

-Hinata almost ran into Konan, and had a breakdown apologizing for hurting the Rain genin. (I have seriously broken that poor girl in this story, I did not intend for that.)

-Originally Masaru didn't leave with Kiba, but split off later when Kakashi noticed the Sound ninja. I changed it due to the choice to leave a single genin to fight six enemies being out of character for Kakashi.

-On that note, I almost discarded that fight entirely in favor of Masaru and Kiba finding Hinata together. The results would have been... _different_.

-At one point I had Deidara and Sasori fighting the invasion outside the village as support for Konan and Itachi. There was even a signal set up to alert Konan by sending clay birds in a certain formation. Obito and Zetsu were there too, though they didn't participate directly.

-Related to the above point: originally, the Sound ninja knocked Masaru out. Obito stumbled upon the scene, and was not very happy.

-Never written, but I played with having Tsunade secretly return to Konoha early and join the fight against Orochimaru. The ANBU who healed everyone right before the invasion was written as a potential placeholder for a disguised Shizune.

-There's a more detailed scene of Ino going through the stands. I ultimately cut it for length, but I'll probably include it as a flashback soon.

-Shino and Chouji worked together briefly fighting off invaders in the streets. Discarded for various reasons.

-I almost had a secret task force dedicated to preventing the invasion, including Tenzo, Kakashi and even Shibuki and Konan. Shibuki's early departure would have been an excuse to go secretly meet the others, and I played with Konan leaving with him.

-Related to above: Kakashi ALMOST patrolled as Sukea, and would run into his good old "friend" Whatshisname. Cut for character overload, and had him briefly encounter Itachi instead. That encounter almost had a slightly... _different_ ending.

-Itachi _was_ originally supposed to be Arata, but I decided to make them separate characters for reasons, including the above brief encounter with Kakashi.

-The battle with Orochimaru had several variations. Among them: Whatshisname briefly appeared and left the counter seal for Itachi to use on the Second before popping out. One vague idea had Kakashi use Kamui from outside the barrier to do... something. Maybe kill one of the guards. A variation with a darker ending: the Third ordered Itachi to reveal himself to fight Orochimaru, and then had Itachi kill him to help maintain his cover in front of Konan.

-Whatshisname REALLY wanted to make an appearance in this arc, and almost ran into Tenzo and helpfully escorted him to the site of Nine-Ro. I am actually still very disappointed this scene had to be cut, because I couldn't think of a way to feature it after deciding to have Masaru meet Gaara.

There are even more ideas I discarded, but I can't remember them all, and a few of them can't be mentioned due to spoilers. So I think you can see why I say this was so difficult.

 **With all that said, please, please, PLEASE leave a review/comment! This was one of the most difficult story arcs I've written to date, and I'd LOVE to hear your final thoughts on it.**


	40. Chapter 39: Echoes of Akari (III)

Chapter 39

* * *

 _"Every great character has an equally great motivation, whether good or bad. Every action has a reason behind it, even if it's not always clear right away. Otherwise, their actions will just feel contrived and forced to move the story a certain direction, and that just irritates the audience._

 _But that begs the question: what counts as a 'great' motivation?"_

* * *

"Uncle Yashamaru?"

"Yes?" The sandy-haired man paused in cleaning the dishes as he felt a small hand tug on his pants, looking down with a curious gleam. A tiny four-year-old boy with messy red hair stared up at him, his pale green eyes scrunched with concern and hesitation.

"I hear it again," he whispered, and Yashamaru tensed, his eyes widening ever so slightly before frowning.

"Don't listen to it," he told him calmly. "Just try to block it out, and whatever it tells you, don't trust it. Okay, Gaara?" Gaara frowned, shuffling uncomfortably, but then gave a small nod.

"...Okay."

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there was a little red-haired boy who heard a demon whispering in the back of his mind._

For as long as he could remember, Gaara heard the whispers.

Sleepless nights would pass by slowly with the voice tugging at the back of his mind, its words muffled and indistinct but the tone clearly angry and frustrated. At times Yashamaru would enter his room to find Gaara hunched over on his bed with his hands pressed against his ears and his eyes squeezed tightly shut, whimpering quietly as he silently pleaded for the voice to _just stop_.

Whenever he hurt someone, the voice got even worse.

Gaara never hurt people purpose. He just wanted to make friends, really. But his sand didn't always agree, and he couldn't control it completely. If someone acted hostile or defensive around him, the sand would rise with a mind of its own and attack them, inevitably drawing blood and leaving him paralyzed with fear and guilt.

Whenever that happened, the voice would give a muffled cheer, its words becoming just a little more clear as it jeered and mocked the victims. It would try to tell him _more_ , hurt _more people_ , make them _bleed_ make them _hurt_ make them _suffer_ for what _they d_ _ **id**_ _ **t**_ _o h_ _ **im**_ —

Then Yashamaru would appear and his calm, steady voice would drown out the whispers, and Gaara could pretend that maybe there wasn't something horribly wrong with him and everything was fine.

Deep down, though, he knew there was. He realized early on that he was different from everyone else; he saw the fear in people's eyes when they saw him, the way even his own father looked at him so cold and distant and wary. Only Yashamaru treated him differently, and even then, some subconscious part of Gaara recognized he still acted just a little more cautious around him than with other children.

Then one day when he was four, he came home to find a calico kitten sitting on the kitchen table.

"Uncle Yashamaru, what's that?" he asked, and his uncle glanced at him in surprise before smiling as he set down an envelope he'd been holding.

"Oh, Gaara. This is Maota. He's a summoning who works for a friend of mine."

"Summoning?" Gaara repeated the unfamiliar word, blinking large, curious green eyes at the young feline. Yashamaru huffed a small sigh but smiled fondly, turning to face him more fully as he launched into his explanation.

"A summoning is a special type of animal who can mold chakra and are willing work with ninja. A ninja can summon them at any time they want and they'll help, whether it's in battle or other matters. My friend lives in Konoha, so she has Maota deliver letters for us."

"Oh." Gaara nodded in understanding, and then briefly fell silent. "Uncle Yashamaru, what's Konoha?"

Ten minutes later, Gaara had received a crash course on very basic geography and foreign politics. Maota had tried to rub against the small boy's leg halfway through the explanation, and when his sand tried to repel it the kitten just grew increasingly curious and tried to pounce on it. Yashamaru would wince each time it got repelled, but Gaara found the scene strangely amusing and endearing. Most animals tended to flee from his sand, so to see one trying to playfully _attack_ it just made him smile giddily.

"Gaara, I have an idea," Yashamaru offered as he pulled the mewling kitten away for the sixth time. "Why don't we add a small note from you to my reply?"

Gaara enthusiastically agreed to the notion, his face lighting up with delight at the thought, and after nearly half an hour of rambling various messages for Yashamaru to transcribe, they finally settled on a brief message introducing him.

' _Hello, my name is Gaara. I'm four years old and live with Uncle Yashamaru. He told me about Konoha and it sounds fun. Is it warm there? Do you have a lot of sand too? What other cats do you have? Please give Maota more treats!_ '

Yashamaru slipped it into the envelope and handed it to Maota, who gingerly took it with his teeth and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Every day for the next week Gaara would ask Yashamaru if he'd received a response. His uncle had warned him that his friend was an adult and tended to be busy, and not to set his expectations too high about her response. Most likely she wouldn't send more than a brief note tacked on the end of the letter politely returning his greetings, and while that slightly disappointed Gaara, even that measly amount of acknowledgment would be thrilling.

So when Yashamaru announced Maota's arrival on the fifth day, both of them had been greatly surprised when the kitten presented them with _two_ envelopes. Yashamaru had immediately ripped them open and read their contents with a strangely serious face, but soon he relaxed and turned to him with a smile.

"Well Gaara, looks like I was wrong," he declared cheerily.

* * *

' _Dear Gaara,_

 _Hi, my name is Akari! My mom said you sent her a letter and asked if we wanted to write back to you. Masaru said no but I said yes so now I get to write to you!_

 _I'm four years old too. I live with my mom and my twin brother Masaru. Konoha is really hot in summers, but it gets cold in winter. We have sand in sandboxes but that's not much. I don't know all of mom's ninneko or Maota, but she has this old one named Masahige watch us. He's really cranky and funny._

 _Mom told me about Suna and she says it's really hot. Does it ever snow there? Do you have popsicles every day? What's your favorite type? Mine's orange!_

 _Write back soon!_ '

* * *

For the first time in his life, Gaara had a friend.

No one could know about his friendship; according to Yashamaru, his father would not approve of him having a pen pal in a foreign village. For that same reason neither of them could send photos of themselves or include really telling information. The second part could be easily mitigated by the adults, since at the beginning the two young children couldn't actually read or write well enough to pen their own letters, but the potential friendship encouraged Gaara to focus even harder on his academic studies.

He had just turned five when he finally penned a letter to Akari with his own hand. It wasn't perfect, full of little mistakes and crossed-out hiragana that Yashamaru had to help correct, but just knowing _he_ wrote it left him even more giddy and excited than usual. Another month of exchanging letters would pass before he'd receive a letter with similarly childish strokes instead of the refined and elegant script Ryoko used, and the burst of pride he felt on Akari's behalf almost rivaled the excitement he'd felt for himself.

They could not send photos, but they could send drawings. Akari drew herself and her brother as brown-haired twins with black eyes, giving her brother really big, spiky hair twice the size of his head. _My hands get stuck in it whenever we fight,_ she confided in one letter that made him laugh. Besides them, she'd draw the few ninneko that her mom summoned, helpfully labeling each one. On occasion she drew some older boys, too, more distant family members she called "cousins".

Gaara sent her drawings of his own family. He drew Temari and Kankurou standing with their father, while he and Yashamaru stood apart from them holding hands. Even then he'd sensed the powerful rift between him and his family, but he never mentioned it when telling her about things his siblings did, always careful not to use their names at Yashamaru's behest.

He told her his mother died when he was born, she told him her dad died before she was born. He told her about training with Yashamaru (but never going into detail, Yashamaru wouldn't let him), she told him about how she felt too hot to train in summer sometimes. He vented about how other kids avoided him, she confessed she accidentally alienated all the girls in her class after getting annoyed by how they didn't take school seriously.

Most of their conversations tended to be superficial, talking about differences between Suna and Konoha and giggling at silly things they'd witnessed, but Gaara didn't care. He finally had someone to talk to, and that alone made him feel a sort of contentment he'd only dreamed of.

* * *

' _Dear Gaara,_

 _It's been a while. Are you okay? Maota says you're there every time he delivers my letters and you don't look like you're hurt, but you never write back. I'm getting worried and I really miss hearing from you. If you're in trouble and can't write, tell Maota and we'll rescue you!_ '

* * *

Yashamaru lied to him.

No one cared for Gaara. Everyone hated him. Yashamaru had secretly scorned him for stealing his sister, and his father wanted nothing more than his death. His mother died cursing him and Suna with her dying breath, naming him after the phrase "self-loving carnage" so he would become a curse upon the village using her as a sacrifice. The bloody kanji for "love" now adorned his forehead in an eternal reminder of his vow to love only himself, his heart closed off to all others.

Yet the letters still came.

Every week like clockwork, Maota would show up at his house to deliver them. On days when Gaara felt in a particularly bad mood, the kitten would stay just long enough to drop the letters and then disappear in a puff of smoke before Gaara could squash him with his sand. Other times Maota would sit on the windowsill placidly, just watching Gaara with a strange mixture of caution and sadness in his golden eyes as the young redhead went about his business before disappearing after an hour.

Gaara didn't know why he even bothered reading them. _Yashamaru_ had introduced him to Akari; for all he knew, she might not exist and it could be a sick ploy by his father or the council to play with his heart even further. Yet for some reason, Gaara found himself reading them anyway. He never responded and he no longer felt the familiar surge of warmth they used to bring, but he still read them.

Every time he read the ever-familiar handwriting Gaara heard _mother's_ voice at the back of his head, jeering at the girl for being so naive to believe they'd fall for such an obvious tactic. Without any responses to reply to, Akari had gradually developed an almost diary-like approach to her letters, telling him about major events which occurred in her life and ending them by asking mundane questions to provide an opening for a response.

Her friendship with one girl ended because of petty clan politics. How was his day? Masaru had a fangirl stalker he hadn't noticed yet who Akari needed to scare off. Did he _really_ like salted tongue? The weather had gotten so hot lately, she didn't want to move. Had he ever gotten an ear infection?

Gaara read each one with a certain sense of detachment, the written words holding no meaning to him. One of the letters had particularly piqued his interest, though. Someone from her clan died, and she confided that her mother had started having horrible nightmares again. Something felt wrong, she wrote, there was a weird tension in their home they couldn't escape.

Gaara didn't know why that one stood out among all the rest, but for the first time in nearly two years, he took out a blank sheet and penned a simple question:

' _Why do you still write to me?_ '

The next week, Maota delivered a letter with an equally simple response:

' _Because we're friends and friends care about each other._ '

A month later, Maota stopped showing up, and he never received another letter.

* * *

 _'Dear Gaara,_

 _Today I felt really lonely at school. The guys I usually hang with were both out today because of clan stuff or something, and Masa-kun made a new friend too, this really loud blond kid, so I ended up eating alone. Nata-chan was alone at lunch too, but her family won't let her talk to me anymore and I don't want her to get in trouble. I don't know which one feels worse. Seeing Nata-chan every day but not talking to her, or seeing Maota show up without a letter from you._

 _Is it weird that I miss you just as much as Nata-chan even though we never actually met?'_

* * *

Five years passed, and Gaara had largely forgotten about his former pen pal and their trivial exchanges. He'd long since accepted that if she did in fact exist, she had given up on him despite her claims to be his friend. It didn't bother him, it just validated his beliefs about humanity's capacity to actually care about him. No one loved Gaara; he could only depend on himself for love. Everyone else only saw a monster, a weapon to be used.

That belief became further validated by the newest mission his father assigned him: to go to Konoha under guise of participating in the Chuunin Exams, and then unleash _mother_ on a rampage while Suna and Oto launched an invasion. Gaara would be nothing but a weapon, a tool to maximize their chances of victory, but that suited him fine. Mother craved blood, and an invasion guaranteed plenty of it.

He and his siblings set out for Konoha two weeks before the exams, meeting a group of Leaf ninja halfway there to escort them the remainder of the way. None of them merited any particular amount of attention, though his siblings had taken an interest in the youngest member, a boy Gaara's age who introduced himself as Uchiha Masaru.

Gaara took one look at the nervous boy, overly polite and clearly uncomfortable around strangers, and promptly dismissed him as unimportant. Weak people had no appeal to his blood lust; only the strong would prove his existence. Mother had voiced slight amusement at the other boy's anxious behavior and smile strained by nerves, something about "Indra must be rolling in his grave," but Gaara didn't think too much on it.

Only on the second day of traveling, when the boy mentioned a sister, did something click in Gaara's mind.

He looked at their guide with renewed interest as Kankurou asked if they'd meet her, not missing the flicker of pain in the Uchiha boy's eyes as his strained smile grew sad. "No. She died. When we were eight."

"How?" Gaara had demanded, and Masaru had _jumped_ in surprise, his sad smile fading entirely.

"My clan's heir went crazy and killed almost everyone."

"And he spared you?"

"...Not untouched."

Masaru had essentially fled at that point, preventing further questioning, but Gaara had received the bulk of what he needed to know. He spent the rest of the trip to Konoha in contemplative silence, mulling over the implications of the information he'd just received.

 _I live with my mom and my twin brother Masaru,_ Akari had written in her first letter. Gaara had not made the connection right away, but now that he had, he could see a faint resemblance to the childish drawings of a little boy with super-spiky hair. From there, the rest of the pieces fell into place easily, leading to a single conclusion:

Akari didn't stop writing because she disliked him, she stopped because she _died_.

Why had she died? How had she died? Who killed her? Why did her brother Masaru live when no one else did?

' ** _This is actually getting interesting,_** ' Mother cackled, and Gaara took her tacit approval to begin probing Baki to attain more details.

The jounin had been reluctant at first and warned him that investigating could raise suspicions, but Gaara persisted. He had never wanted much from others, but this—this curiosity he could not deny himself. Eventually the man relented and agreed to try to find some information. He warned Gaara not to get his hopes up, but the jinchuuriki knew Baki would deliver. No one ever wanted to disappoint him, after all.

Days before the invasion his "teacher" finally came through, returning from a meeting bearing a thick folder with a copy of the official report on the death of Uchiha Akari. Whoever gathered the file included a hand-written note that there had been no photos of her corpse available, but Gaara didn't mind. The coroner had decided against performing an official, in-depth autopsy on her due to the deluge of corpses to process in the wake of the massacre, but they had left several notes voicing their thoughts on her corpse's state.

He read over them and reached a shocking revelation, one which would undoubtedly chill others and shake their faith in humanity. Gaara, who had grown up knowing nothing but hatred and a demon whispering in his ear, could only smile at the twisted truth laid bare on the paper in front of him, a strange sense of morbid amusement settling over him.

"Mother," he breathed. "Love is very twisted, isn't it..."

* * *

 _'Dear Gaara,_

 _Yesterday was our dad's birthday, so Mom took us to the cemetery to have a picnic by his grave. She told us all kinds of stories about him, and it really makes me wish I got to meet him. Even though he died before we were born_ _ _Mom says he'd already loved us more than anything else in the world. She said he's watching over us now and is probably really proud, and then she started crying and laughing. I kinda felt like he was there when she said that, even though I couldn't really feel him like I sometimes feel Uncle Obi watching us.__

 _I bet your mom's looking after you too, just like my dad and Uncle Obi. I think that's just how Moms are.'_

* * *

On the day of the invasion, Mother craved Uchiha Sasuke's blood, and Gaara wanted to satisfy her. But as he chased his prey across the village, he saw two figures break away from the group, one of them with a spiky mane of brown hair. The sight caused a burst of lucidity to flare in Gaara, his bloodlust fading for just a second as his gaze turned from his target to the fleeing figure with a red and white fan on his back.

A second of indecision seized him, and then his curiosity won out. As he touched down upon the rooftop they'd been standing, his feet swiveled and he leapt away from his original path to pursue a more enticing target.

He wanted to know.

How would Masaru react?

Would he feel sad? Would he feel angry? Would he feel the same betrayal Gaara felt all those years ago? Or would he feel something different, something Gaara couldn't even imagine?

Those questions surged in his mind as he raced along the streets, tracking his new prey more on instinct than sight. Plenty of blood would be shed today, but he may not get another chance to see how Masaru would react.

When Gaara finally caught up to his quarry, the boy had been in a forest with his hair tangled in the grip of a faceless Sound ninja as three others looked on, the smell of burning flesh tainting the air. Disposing of the aggressors took little effort on Gaara's part; he spared them little thought beyond their presence being obstacles to his curiosity. His casual disposal seemed to shock Masaru, who regarded him warily as Gaara began setting up the reveal by asking a simple question:

" _Would you say your family loved you?_ "

Would he be in shock? Would he cry for his sister? Would he curse his mother's name for taking her away?

The longer he talked, the more funny it became. That boy... He still seemed so insistent his mother loved them, how would he react when he found out the truth? The thought was so funny Gaara began to laugh, a maniacal and jaded sound cultivated by years of isolation and alienation. He laughed so hard he couldn't breathe, doubling over to clutch his side, his _mother's_ delighted cackling ringing in his ears.

"Love is so twisted," he whispered. "Love is so _twisted_ , isn't it, _Ma-sa-ru_? My father tried to kill me because he hates me and fears me. And your mother—"

And here it was. He threw his head back with hysterical shrieks of glee as he raised his arms to sweep towards the sky as he screamed, " _And your mother killed your sister in the name of love!_ "

The other boy suddenly stood stiff and paralyzed, his eyes burning bright red, but Gaara paid it no mind, too amused as he continued rambling. _"She cut off her head,"_ he hissed gleefully. " _Stabbed out her eyes with a kunai."_

 _"Isn't life marvelous?"_

That look of shock, so priceless.

 _"Isn't love hiLa_ _ **rIoUS**_ _?"_

Mother's laughter joined his own, echoing through the forest as their voices melded together to become one.

 _"It's all juSt a_ _ **liE**_ _! No one can_ _ **LO**_ _v_ _ **E**_ _ **Ot**_ _hE_ _ **Rs**_ _! YO_ _ **u cA**_ _N o_ _ **Nl**_ _Y L_ _ **Ov**_ _E Yo_ _ **UR**_ _s_ _ **eLf**_ _!"_

Then Masaru spoke, and all of Gaara's humor vanished in an instant.

" _She didn't kill her._ "

* * *

' _Dear Gaara,_

 _It's been so long since the last time we wrote letters. I wonder if you even read them, or just threw them away. It makes me a little sad, I almost feel like maybe you never existed sometimes. I wish I could meet you in person. I have so much to tell you, and I'm sure you have a lot of stories to share too! I don't know when that will happen, but I'm sure we'll get to meet someday!_ '

* * *

Pain.

Agony unlike anything Gaara could imagine filled every single sense, leaving him alone in a dark void with only his screams to fill the silence. His throat felt raw and sore from the constant shrieking, his every nerve _burning_ and _tingling_ to the point he could hardly _bear it_ —

His eyes snapped open with a gasp, wincing at the rush of pain the intake of breath created. Grimacing, he slowly sat up, taking care to move slowly to avoid jostling his aching head too much. Stars danced and filled his vision, his surrounding blurred and swirling. Vaguely he registered the shapes of Temari and Kankurou crowding around him, but he couldn't hear them. Everything felt so silent, so _muted_ , and—

He froze, a cold chill running down his spine.

Everything was _quiet_. Quieter than he'd ever heard before. Including...

"Mother?" he whispered, barely louder than a breath.

He heard no response, only resounding silence ringing in his head.

 _Once upon a time, there was a little red-haired boy who heard a demon whispering in the back of his mind._

 _Then one day the demon suddenly went silent, and he had no idea what to do anymore._

* * *

 **A/N:** With this, the Invasion Arc is all wrapped up. _  
_

I wonder if any of you saw this coming. This twist has been planned for quite some time now, though the hints have been incredibly subtle. Ryoko had several pen pals, and used her ninneko as a mail delivery service; I think I've referenced before that she used them to track down Jiraiya on multiple occasions. She met Yashamaru when he was captured by Konoha during the last war, and they managed to establish a decent enough relationship to keep in touch afterwards. Given how much Yashamaru cared for Gaara, I think he'd be all for getting him a pen pal too since it would be the safest way for him to make a friend. (For the record, Rasa knew he wrote to Ryoko, but he didn't know about Gaara and Akari since Yashamaru thought he might stop it.)

Overall, I'd say Akari had both a small and a large impact on Gaara. Ultimately their friendship didn't radically change his life as he still got betrayed by Rasa, but those letters made his childhood a lot brighter than canon. While initially they left him more sour about human nature, I think he'll be more friendly and open than he was in canon once he heals a bit. Which is probably good, considering he didn't get Therapy no Jutsu from Naruto this time around.

My main issue with this chapter was figuring out where to place it in the story. Originally I wrote this as a precursor to the confrontation scene, but I decided I wanted to focus on Masaru's feelings instead. Then I thought about having him tell Masaru after the invasion, but getting them into a situation where they could talk would feel a bit forced, and I can't imagine Gaara telling anyone else about it. In the end, I decided to slide it here at the end of the arc, as a sort of interlude and transition to the aftermath. The alternative would be to wait who knows how long, and besides that, it also gave me a great opportunity to hint at just what types of impact Nine-Ro will have. This is one of the larger canon-shattering twists, and I'll explain more in the next chapter.

Anyways, that's all I have to say. As always, let me know what you think! And by the way, the contest for the predictions is over. The next couple of weeks are going to be VERY busy though and I'll need time to sort through all of the comments, so no guarantees on when I'll announce the winner. For now though, please enjoy this lovely little omake about Ryoko and Yashamaru's time together.

 **OMAKE: A Different Kind of Torture  
**

When Yashamaru got captured by Konoha, he had felt shame and anger at himself for being so careless. He had foolishly let his guard down after a long battle and got surrounded by ANBU, and now he found himself with his wrists and ankles shackled at all times and his chakra sealed to the point he couldn't even feel it under his skin. He could at least take solace in the fact that he wouldn't be tortured for information, seeing as his brother-in-law happened to be the Kazekage, and that gave Konoha incentive to keep him physically unharmed. On the downside, that also meant he'd be used as a hostage to try to broker a peace agreement with his village. For that same reason he got to spend his captivity under constant guard at a jounin's house rather than rotting away in a dank prison cell, which seemed more comfortable even if that jounin happened to the infamous Bloody Sunburst, Uchiha Ryoko.

But at this particular moment, he thought he might prefer having his nails ripped off after all.

"Would you like more tea, Yashamaru-san?" Ryoko asked, smiling serenely at him. The Sand jounin shifted uncomfortably on the stool, the movement causing the chains binding his wrists to rattle.

"Er, yes, please?" he responded hesitantly, and Ryoko smiled pleasantly before proceeding to fill his teacup with a pretty porcelain teapot which had been hand-painted with an hourglass motif.

"How about you, Boar-san?" she asked, turning to the masked ANBU guard sitting directly to his right. The man remained silent and unreadable underneath the mask, but Yashamaru felt certain the man felt just as incredulous at being roped into the impromptu tea party as he did. ANBU operatives should remain in the shadows, not forced to sit at tiny tables and forced to wear colorful haori over their uniforms.

When he didn't reply, Ryoko's smile faded slightly. "Boar-san," she said calmly. "I just asked you." She set down the teapot and turned to face him. "Would you like." Her eyes exploded into blossoms of bright blood red, the tomoe of the Sharingan spinning wildly as a spike of killing intent washed over the room so thick Yashamaru almost choked. "Some tea?"

The boar-masked agent winced and shrunk back before bobbing his head in silent assent. Almost instantly the dangerous aura faded and she smiled pleasantly once more, her eyes still bright Sharingan red. "Wonderful. Allow me to fill your cup."

As she lifted the teapot and leaned forward to pour it into his cup, Yashamaru darted a disbelieving glance at the other two ANBU operatives seated at the table in similarly garish haori. He couldn't see their faces, but in that moment he felt like their eyes met anyway, and an unspoken sense of camaraderie passed between them. None of them wanted to be there, but they had no choice but to endure Ryoko's strange mood swings and demands for the good of their villages.

That, and turning down a freshly traumatized woman whose mental health balanced on the edge of "totally fine on the surface but not really" and "so broken they make Humpty Dumpty look like he just had a couple scratches" felt unusually cruel, even for hardened shinobi like them.

When he got back to Suna, Yashamaru resolved to do everything in his power to pass a drastic overhaul of their mental health system. He could only shudder at the thought of Karura somehow turning out like this.


	41. Chapter 40: Some Lighthearted Angst

**Warning: the opening scene of this chapter features child death.**

Chapter 40

* * *

 _"One big bad down, a million more to go. But first, let's have a brief interlude and have some lighthearted angst."_

* * *

 _"NO! STOP IT!"_

 _Akari's panicked sobs rang as she ran down the hall, nearly slipping and sliding on the polished floorboards due to the socks. Darting through an open door, she rammed it shut and ran for the window, but before she could take more than a step a dark figure appeared behind her. A silver streak swiped through the air and her head flew from her shoulders, hitting the floor with a meaty_ thunk _before rolling away._

 _A furious shriek echoed from the doorway as Ryoko witnessed her daughter's body fall to the ground in a pool of blood, despair mixing with grief and fury. Pure, unadulterated rage emerged in the form of a vicious roar as she threw herself at Akari's attacker, swinging her sharp tanto as tears flowed from bright red eyes. However, just before it could make contact the figure disappeared, only for the tip of a katana to explode through her chest from behind._

 _"NO!"_

 _Blood spewed from her mouth as she came to a jarring halt, her eyes widening fractionally as she stared at the blade which still glistened with her child's blood. The katana twisted and swiped to the left to slice through her heart, and the light faded from her eyes before the tanto slid from her hand._

 _He screeched in pure agony as he watched her form crumple and slide off the blade, tearing at his hair as sobs mixed with horrified screams. "STOP IT!" he shrieked, tears pouring down his face. "STOP IT! STOP HURTING THEM!"_

Sasuke's eyes snapped open with a startled gasp, jolting in the chair to sit upright. For a second his heart stopped as he failed to recognize the dark room ( _so dark so very dark just like that night that horrible awful night_ ), but then his eyes fell upon a familiar mane of unruly brown hair beneath a white sheet and he felt all the breath leave him at once as his entire body slowly drooped.

Right... the hospital. He was in the hospital.

Groaning softly, he sank in the chair a bit more and grimaced at the sharp pain in his neck, his hand reflexively rising to attempt to massage the cricks in it. The gesture only brought back another memory though, of a glimpse of the kanji for " _hope_ " against pale, pale skin, and his hand stilled before slowly falling to his lap. He hunched forward and pressed his other hand against his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.

 _It's a lie,_ he whispered to himself. _He was lying._ That man _did it,_ he _killed_ her _. Not Aunt Ryoko. Not—_

His thoughts came to a jarring halt as he realized he was _wishing_ that horrible, hellish genjutsu he'd seen to be real rather than a nightmare, and he felt his face crumple as he buried it in his arms.

(Because if that was a lie, then what else was?)

* * *

"Well, Uchiha-san, you're still suffering from minor chakra exhaustion, but overall your health is fine. Just take it easy the next few days, and you should be fully recovered by the end of the week. You can leave now."

The nurse offered Masaru a polite smile, and he tentatively returned it as he slid off the exam table. "Thank you," he murmured politely with a small bow, and quickly headed to the door. Once he stepped outside he glanced to the side to find Sasuke leaning against the wall, his eyes shut and his head lolling slightly forward. His eyes soon opened though and he quickly straightened, turning to face him.

"Masaru, are you—"

"I'm fine," Masaru interrupted tiredly. "I just need some more rest. Can we go now?" Sasuke nodded shortly, and the two began walking in silence. Or at least, "silent" on their parts. Three days had passed since the failed invasion, and he suspected the staff hadn't gone home during that time. People bustled around the halls of the hospital, the air buzzing with machines beeping and shouts from staff, and tinged with blood and disinfectant. The overwhelming activity provided a stark contrast to his last stay, five years ago—

 _No. Don't think about that._

Shaking his head, Masaru tugged the collar of his jacket a little higher in an attempt to resist the urge to scratch the back of his neck. He'd heard about the seal from Sasuke and the doctors, but he'd yet to see it for himself. Some sealing expert had examined it while he'd still been unconscious, and deemed it safe enough to leave alone. Still, he'd need to meet another expert once the chaos had died down a bit for a more thorough examination.

The knowledge the seal had been there all these years left him with... mixed feelings. Originally he'd expected to feel sad about his impromptu haircut, but after learning about _this_ , suddenly losing "Indra's hair" didn't feel quite so bad. His lips curled back sourly at the thought, his tongue tingling with a thick, honey-like taste. No, he really wouldn't miss that particular mess.

Sasuke suddenly stopped next to him, making Masaru pause and turn to look at him curiously to find him looking down the hall with a perplexed expression. Following his gaze, Masaru glimpsed a familiar flash of pink disappear around a corner. _Sakura?_ Conflict briefly displayed on Sasuke's face, and when he glanced at Masaru the brunet offered his cousin a small smile.

"Go ahead," he said. "I'll see you at the apartment."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked worriedly. "I mean, you just got released—"

"Sasuke," Masaru interrupted. "I'll be fine. Besides, I think I kinda need the alone time." He offered a feeble smile as he spoke, trying to reassure him.

Sasuke just regarded him with a heartbroken, pained look and the smile vanished.

After a moment Sasuke glanced down the hall, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "...I'll burn it," he muttered, and Masaru had strain to hear him over the bustling noise around them.

"What?"

"The omamori," he said, scowling. "I'll take out the photo, and burn the rest. The teacups too," he continued, his fists clenching even tighter. "And all those damn paintings and that coin purse and that stupid wristband— _I'll burn it all_. We don't need them anymore, the village knows how to make more now—"

"Sasuke." Masaru calmly cut into his tirade, and Sasuke turned in surprise. Masaru regarded his cousin coolly, his features schooled and his eyes showing his disapproval. "Stop it. Don't burn any of that stuff just because mom made it."

"What?" he sputtered, stunned. "But—but she—"

"Don't," Masaru interrupted. "Mom made that stuff because she cared for us—for all of us. Don't destroy it just because you're worried about how I might feel. That'll just make me feel worse." Sasuke didn't respond right away, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Are you seriously defending her?" he sputtered, and Masaru offered him with a thin, humorless smile.

"Mom had issues. Looking back, normal moms probably don't have summons babysit their toddlers constantly, or cry at how nice their kids are. I don't know what happened, but I think something broke her even before we were born. But that doesn't change that she loved us. She's still our mother, and I don't want to lose everything she left us."

Shaking his head, he pointed to the hall. "Anyways, you wanted to see if that was Sakura, right? You should hurry up, this place is pretty big. I'll see you back at home." He spun on his heel and walked away, and as he retreated he heard Sasuke's footsteps head in the opposite direction. He smirked slightly, pleased to know that Sasuke decided to follow Sakura instead of him.

They might be family, but that didn't automatically mean they must prioritize each other over everyone else.

Masaru certainly didn't.

* * *

"So, does it feel different at all?"

Gaara didn't respond right away to Jiraiya's query, just eying him in silent contemplation, but the white-haired sage barely paid his stare any mind. Currently they sat in a secured room located just outside Konoha, ANBU guards stationed outside the door while Baki stood near the entrance with a pensive expression. Seals sprawled the walls and covered nearly every inch of space, including the table where Gaara sat with his shirt removed to expose the seal on his stomach. Jiraiya studied it with a keen eye, mentally dissecting the intersecting lines and runes.

"It is... quiet," Gaara finally said. "Not as loud."

"Would you say quiet is good?" Jiraiya asked, and Gaara paused.

"...Yes," he decided quietly, and the Sannin couldn't help but smile. He knew from the Suna delegation that the Ichibi had communicated with the boy freely, but the alterations should cut down on that. Hopefully without its influence, Gaara would be able to become somewhat normal; at the very least, he didn't seem as bloodthirsty and crazed anymore. Just quiet, maybe a bit somber.

Personally, he just felt grateful it hadn't gone wrong yet.

When he saw that bright burst of light coming from the forest during the invasion, Jiraiya knew that Mito's array had been activated. The second he defeated his opponents Jiraiya took off to investigate it, expecting to find a nearly-rampaging Naruto with multiple tails sprouting from his body, but instead he found a rapidly shrinking tanuki screeching in agony as wood bindings restrained him to the ground.

Given the urgency of the situation, Jiraiya did not disagree with Kakashi's decision to lure Gaara there, but it had been a risky gamble. The array had been designed with the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki in mind, and while it had been modified over the years to account for the variations in the seals of Mito's successors, all of their seals had been quite different from any used by Gaara.

Lucky for them, Mito made the original array quite fluid. Even in a pain-fueled haze she had a mind to make it potentially useful for future jinchuuriki, so somehow the array adapted to Gaara's seal. The result was a shoddy-looking mess combining his original seal with traits from Mito's own, full of confusing lines and nonsensical-looking rune combinations.

In all honesty it looked like a nightmare, but thanks to his years of studying fuinjutsu Jiraiya could recognize it to be stable. He couldn't fully understand _how_ it worked, and doubted anyone could ever recreate it successfully due to how messy it was, but right now, he _really_ didn't want to mess with it unless absolutely necessary. After three days it had yet to fluctuate or show any sort of instability, and if Gaara said it was fine, he'd just have to hope that remained true.

"Alright then! Well, I'd say we're done for today then, so toss on your shirt and head out. I need to talk to your teacher alone." The red-haired boy nodded mutely as he pulled the black garment back over his head, slipping off the table to head to the door. When he opened it Jiraiya glimpsed his older sister waiting for him, her expression pensive and guarded but hopeful as she quietly greeted him.

He released a small huff as the door closed, his lips quirking into a small smile. The girl still obviously had some reservations about her younger sibling's state of mind, but the look in her eyes gave him hope the boy might find acceptance yet. Thinking of the lonely childhood described in Gaara's file, the Sannin couldn't help but feel a pang of regret at the thought of Naruto potentially suffering that same loneliness.

 _That kid's cheery attitude is a miracle,_ he mused ruefully. Compared to Gaara his suffering hadn't been nearly as painful, but that still didn't mean he had a good childhood. The thoughts of the loneliness his godson endured in his absence sobered Jiraiya, his smile fading as he turned to face a stone-faced Baki.

"So, how is it?" the Sand jounin questioned lowly.

"Overall, the seal looks stable," Jiraiya reported. "Compared to the design you showed me of the original, I'd say it's actually better. That said, it's still a pretty major change, and it hasn't been that long. I think we should move Gaara to a more secure location for a couple weeks so we can monitor him safely, just in case."

Baki's visible eye narrowed at the suggestion, his lips pulling back slightly in a displeased scowl. Leaving their jinchuuriki in the hands of another village obviously left a bad taste in his mouth, but both men knew that he really had no choice in the matter. Barely three days had passed since the invasion, and Suna had lost far too much during the invasion to try to negotiate anything.

Thus far Konoha had shown leniency solely due to the fact that Orochimaru had a clear hand in manipulating Suna, but right now most of the meager forces had been detained. As it stood the Hidden Leaf had the upper hand, both in terms of power _and_ politics; it could demand they hand over Gaara entirely, and Suna would be unable to protest the decision. Negotiations would only be complicated by the fact the Kazekage _still_ had yet to be found.

"Fine," Baki bit out. "But if you dare tamper with it—"

"Baki, I'm not gonna lie," Jiraiya interrupted. "That seal right now is a mess. It works, but its construction is much more delicate than before. Any kind of tampering could be catastrophic. I recommend none of you touch it, either," he added with serious look. "The slightest alteration could cause the whole thing to come apart, there's no telling what could happen."

"So if the seal becomes trouble, what then?" Baki asked warily, and Jiraiya smirked ruefully.

"You want the truth? I have no idea. Worst case scenario it breaks free and goes on a rampage, but anything could happen. We just need to hope like hell nothing goes wrong with it."

* * *

Hiruzen watched through his crystal ball as Naruto and Konohamaru stood at the gate of the Sarutobi clan residence, unable to help the fond smile that took shape on his tired features as he watched them talk with animated gestures. The two had only known each other a few months, but Naruto had proven to be a great influence on his grandson (aside from the pranking tendencies). The sight of that boy's bright enthusiasm never failed to lighten his mood, however briefly it might be.

The crystal dimmed and the image faded, and he reclined in his seat with a sigh, massaging the bridge of his nose. Since the invasion Naruto had been asking about when he'd be able to meet Gaara again, and he knew he only wanted to meet the other boy because of their shared jinchuuriki status and sympathy over experiencing Mito's array first-hand. Hiruzen still felt a bitter taste in his mouth whenever he thought about that horrid day nearly five years ago, on the disaster that had been Naruto's eighth birthday.

The thought made his mood worsen even more. During the invasion Uchiha Sasuke had learned about Naruto's jinchuuriki status, and given how bright she was Hiruzen had no doubt Sakura would also piece together his secret soon enough. Beyond that, he had good reason to believe Masaru might already suspect it as well. Sometime in the next few days he'd need to assemble Team Seven to formally discuss Naruto's circumstances.

However, that conversation would have to wait. His eyes trailed to the mounds of paperwork stacked atop his desk, never a welcome sight but this time in particular it filled him with distaste. Funeral arrangements, budgets for reconstruction efforts, financial reports on the lost products—from the moment he set foot in his office, he'd been inundated with the bureaucratic side of recovering from the invasion.

Konoha had suffered heavy damage, but nothing too catastrophic. The village had seen far worse in its history; the current level of loss hardly compared to the devastation wrought by the Nine-Tailed Fox thirteen years ago. With everyone working together to repair the damage, Konoha would surely rebuild and stand even taller and prouder than before.

Hiruzen just wished he didn't have to lead it.

Selfish as it sounded, he did not want to be at the helm of Konoha through yet _another_ disaster. As the Hokage he had a responsibility to his village and he would always be willing to die for its sake, but the years were starting to catch up to him. He felt he had grown far too old for the office—he had been too old the first time he relinquished his hat to Minato, and that had been nearly thirteen years ago.

His battle with Orochimaru had only further cemented this belief. Even with Masuyo there to provide aid, they could hardly keep up with his reanimated predecessors. Had Tobirama-sensei not freed himself from Orochimaru's control, Hiruzen would have been forced to summon the Shinigami to seal their souls at the cost of his own life. As it stood, he just felt tired and ever conscious of the failings of his aging body.

At least Orochimaru most likely would not be a threat anymore. The Amaterasu ensured that much.

Hiruzen withheld the urge to sigh tiredly, and paused as he heard a knock on the door. Stretching his senses, he could hear the familiar tap of a wooden cane against the floor, causing his features to crinkle in mild distaste. Visits from Danzou had become increasingly tiresome in recent years, but right now he needed all the help he could get. While his methods could be too unsavory for his tastes, Danzou had nothing but Konoha's best interests in mind, so he chose to focus on that.

"Come in," he called, and his old friend opened the door and slipped inside.

"Hiruzen," he greeted with a nod. "Have you thought about my advice?"

"Yes, and I think temporarily recruiting civilians to take on some of the D-ranks should be doable and help towards speeding up reconstruction. However, I disagree on sending the genin teams that aid would free on more C-ranks."

"Konoha cannot let itself be seen as weak," Danzou warned. "Right now, we seem especially vulnerable due to the invasion. If we slow down our output, other villages will pounce."

"You are correct," Hiruzen agreed easily, "And that is why I want to have them focus on helping rebuild the village instead. Our intelligence is too spotty right now for my comfort, and we don't have the resources to double-check all of the missions. I don't want to risk a repeat of Wave." Kami knows how much of a disaster _that_ had been. No one had died, but one of their top jounin had been captured by an unknown element for over a week and had his implanted doujutsu modified without his consent. That didn't even go into the fact that Team Seven had to face _Momochi Zabuza_ on their own.

Danzou's mouth tightened and he made a rumbling sound that hinted at displeasure, but he still nodded. "Very well. I do not fully agree, but we can discuss it later. We have more immediate concerns to address."

"We do. I assume you're here because your team's made progress in your investigations."

"We have determined how Yakushi Kabuto managed to bypass security to enter the record room. As you know, one of my investigators found residue from an unknown chemical in one of the vents in the initial investigation, but we only received the test results today due to its complexity. It's been identified as a complex chemical compound which affects the senses, though the exact effects can vary from person to person."

"And I assume the guards match some of the symptom profiles?" Hiruzen guessed, and Danzou nodded.

"They did. We assume Kabuto used the compound in conjunction with a genjutsu so he could slip into the room unnoticed. The specifics of the theoretical scenario will be in the final report, so I will let you read it yourself later. I have composed a proposal for potential revisions to the security measures in light of this, and as we speak I am having Homura and Koharu review it so they can add further revisions of their own. They'll bring the final list to you once they finish."

"I'll expect it in the next few hours, then. Thank you for your hard work, Danzou." He spoke with sincere gratitude, feeling the burden on his shoulders already lightening with this news. He'd been deeply concerned since he'd learned that someone had managed to break into in the room housing Konoha's death records, as even censored reports could contain priceless information if it landed in the right hands.

Sometimes Konoha would move certain files to a more secure location if officials deemed the content too sensitive, but that still left a large number of records inside the more "public" room. They kept that room under constant guard, but they would not delude themselves into believing the security to be totally impregnable. Unfortunately, on the night of July 21st their worst fears had been realized.

One of the two guards assigned to the room that night, Yamamoto Fumio, felt unexpectedly ill during his shift and had to leave his post to visit the toilet. The other guard, Hagane Atsuenkou, reported later he'd experienced a period of dulled senses and a mild headache during his partner's absence. At some point during that time, someone had managed to penetrate the room.

Danzou had been the one to report the break-in the following day. He had an assistant make daily visits to the room to ensure certain files had not been touched, and he'd discovered that someone had disturbed the file on Uchiha Akari. Akari's death had not been strictly confidential and no formal autopsy had been performed on her body, but Konoha would prefer to keep the exact circumstances secret from the public.

Now an unknown number of ninja from Suna knew about it, including their jinchuuriki—and worse, so did Masaru and Sasuke. Naturally, no one wanted those two to find out, but thanks to the chaos following the invasion they had yet to address the two boys about it. Danzou apparently seemed to be thinking about this as well, as he questioned, "Have you decided on how to handle the Uchiha boy yet?"

Hiruzen did not need to ask which one he meant. "Masaru has not shown any negative reaction to the news since regaining consciousness," he responded tiredly. "The ANBU operatives assigned to his hospital room report he's quieter than usual, but overall his behavior has not deviated significantly when speaking to Sasuke and hospital staff. I have yet to speak to him about it, but I sincerely doubt this will affect his loyalties."

"You cannot be certain of that," Danzou argued calmly. "You know that the Uchiha clan is unpredictable when dealing with this sort of matter. Moreover, he's already shown several similar behaviors to Uchiha Ryoko. He may very well already be—"

"Uchiha Ryoko was an exception, not a rule," Hiruzen interrupted, his voice taking on a steely edge as he glared at his old friend. "Ryoko's history is hardly typical, even among her clan. Masaru may have inherited certain traits from her, but most of her more undesirable behaviors stemmed from her upbringing. Compared to Sasuke, Masaru is far less prone to a malicious reaction."

"Or he could be hiding it," Danzou retorted quietly. Hiruzen didn't bother responding, instead turning to the mounds of papers littering his desk.

"I'm glad you came, though," he said. "I have something for you to look at." He brushed away a small stack of paperwork to reveal an old, leather-bound journal. "Hawk delivered this today." Danzou's lone eye narrowed at the moniker, his hand tightening its grip on his cane ever so slightly. To Hiruzen's relief he didn't comment on it, and stepped closer to survey the journal's cover.

"This is the Second's handwriting," he observed, and Hiruzen nodded.

"Tobirama-sensei apparently asked Hawk to retrieve it from a hidden location. It contains some extra research notes on the Edo Tensei which he had kept private. He apparently hoped we might be able to use it to help determine Orochimaru's modifications to it, and then devise a potential counter for it in the event it's used again."

"I'll gather a team to research it immediately," Danzou offered, leaning his cane against Hiruzen's desk so he could carefully lift the weathered tome with both hands.

"I was hoping you would say that. I'll leave the team members to your discretion, just make sure you tell me who you assign to it so I can know how to arrange the rest of our forces."

"Of course," Danzou promised, slipping it into the folds of his robe with a curt nod.

"Thank you. If that's all, you may leave. There's much to do right now, and we have little time to spare." He smirked ruefully as he gestured to the mountains of paperwork still awaiting his signature, for once too vital to delay more than a few minutes. Eying it with no small amount of disdain, Danzou frowned and nodded tightly.

"Very well. I'll get to work right away. However, we'll continue this conversation later." He grabbed his cane once more and turned, the tip tapping the floor loudly as he swept out the door. Once the door closed Hiruzen sighed and sank into his seat, massaging his forehead.

Really, if only Minato could still be there...

* * *

 **With this, the aftermath begins!**

Before I go any further, I would like to point out that I received some INCREDIBLE fan art from lumutness on AO3! It is so incredible, it's actually reshaped my mental image of Masaru's current outfit. It really shows off Masaru and Akari's personalities, and it even includes Ryoko, though I want to point out her hair is actually black. I think I only mentioned it once or twice though, but other than that tiny detail it's actually a perfect rendition of her. There's even a little look at her sketchbook with her drawing of Kushina in front of the Kyuubi's eye! Seriously, words cannot do justice to how much I love this, and you can find this wonderful fan art here (fix the dotcom and .., you know the drill): lumutness(..)tumblr(dotcom)/post/166970481985/echoes-of-light-a-fanfiction-by

Now back to the story, things are a bit of a mess. No one emerged from the invasion unscathed. Sasuke's currently experiencing some sort of revenge-based identity crisis, Masaru won't entertain the notion that he should despise Ryoko, and Hiruzen has paperwork. And that's just the people in this chapter. At least Gaara's doing better, and we now know how Kabuto got discovered. Next chapter should help expand on further effects of the aftermath.

So.

Next chapter? The cliffhanger?

I am REALLY looking forward to everyone's reactions to it.

I am even more excited than I was for the Land of Waves twist. The next two chapters will have one of those crazy twists that totally turns the story on its head, and is one of two twists that will thoroughly shatter whatever might have been left of canon. Which is definitely saying something since I may or may not have just killed off Orochimaru, and _definitely_ screwed with Gaara's seal.

Also, _it's still not even the biggest twist coming up_. You have been warned.


	42. Author's Note (Important!)

**Bad news: updates will be delayed for at LEAST one week.**

On Wednesday I dropped my 2011 Mac laptop at an angle. Today I got confirmation that it's kaput, and there is a good chance I lost all my files on there. My parents were awesome enough to buy me a new one when they got confirmation from the store, but it's still a big loss. I had six years of work on there, dating back to high school, and now a good chunk of it is lost. It's honestly kind of heart-breaking, I can't even begin to imagine exactly what has been lost because some of it was so old.

As for what this means for you: **I won't be posting Chapter 41 on Monday, and there's no guarantee of an update next week either.** Right now my school load is too heavy to guarantee I'll be able to have something done for a Monday update. I have two major-ish assignments due this Tuesday, namely a 3D modeling project and six comic pages, and real life takes priority.

(Also, Pokemon comes out next Friday. I am a life-long Pokemon fan, and I know better than to think I won't be spending next weekend in a Pokemon-fueled haze.)

Beyond that, before I post again I want to have the next two chapters rewritten, as well as the opening scene of Chapter 43. As I've mentioned numerous times, I like to maintain a buffer so I can post on a regular basis. I'm a full-time college student, so the buffer guarantees my ability to post more, as well as give me a chance to make changes before posting if I decide I don't like a plot point. Actually, a little-known one: way back when Masaru went back the academy and a teacher separated him from Naruto, he originally threw a violent temper tantrum towards the teacher. I changed it for reasons.

As far as Echoes of Light is concerned, this is actually probably the best time for this sort of catastrophic loss. Due to various circumstances the buffer was at an all-time low of three chapters, and of those three, the next two are probably the easiest to write. The cliffhanger next time and Chapter 43 are scenes I've had in mind since almost the very beginning, and I honestly think these two are the chapters I would least mind rewriting—actually, Chapter 42 was _really_ fun to write. It'll be fun to write it again. _(And once you read it, you'll all probably be questioning my definition of "fun".)_

But that said, while I won't be able to update with an actual chapter, I don't want to leave you guys TOTALLY hanging on Monday. So here's my solution:

 **Everyone, post ideas/requests for omakes/extras, and on Monday I'll post as many as I can in place of the chapter!**

Any characters you want, any scenario. Heck, it can even be something non-canon-compliant, or even relate to the story itself. Super awkward sleepover between Gaara and Masaru? I think that'd be fun. Or maybe Masaru and Naruto have a birthday party Uzumaki-style? I have ideas for that. Want to see our Friendly Neighborhood Kakashi-napper have a drunk arm-wrestling contest with Tobi to determine who has the right to wear the mask? ...I think I need to do that one now. I'll even accept headcanons, and scenes with characters who haven't appeared yet, like Tsunade or the Akatsuki. Who knows? Maybe I'll include a few hints to some _actual_ canon stuff, too...

So, yeah. This news is pretty heavy, but I want to turn this into an opportunity. I think writing a few omake scenes will help stir the creative juices, too, and I'd love to see what you guys come up with.

And I don't think I say this enough, but _thank you all so much for reading this story_. Echoes of Light is by no means the most popular one I've written. Nor is it the longest, or most intimate and personal. I've been writing fan fiction for over ten years, I've made friends specifically _because_ of some of those stories, and I've seen varying degrees of popularity across various sites. Compared to other stories, this one is barely a blip in my writing I think that of all the fan fics I've written across various fandoms, this one is my favorite.

Thank you all so much for enjoying this story. Thank you especially to readers who don't just say "awesome" and "Next chapter now!", but also speculate on the big twists and actually give me _constructive criticism_. It's legitimately been years since the last time I got feedback beyond general commentary from online reviews, and it's so refreshing. As a writer, I'm always striving to improve and learn to be better. I know for a fact I could not have pulled off _Echoes of Light_ as well as I have so far just two years ago, and while I love it _now_ , I sincerely look forward to the day I can look back and say "I could have done this part so much better if I wrote this now."

I'm getting all rambly now, so I'll end this here. I've had some stuff on my mind lately so I guess I'm a bit more philosophical than usual. Come Monday, I'll probably delete this message and upload the omake chapter in its place. But since I'm getting all philosophical, I'll just say this: if you're having a bad time right now, I want you to know that one day this will all just be a bad memory. Bad memories can hurt forever, that's true, but as time goes on the pain will eventually fade bit by bit. I won't try to sugar-coat it and claim everything will be magically okay someday. Life isn't some fairy tale where the happy ending instantly guarantees eternal happiness, I doubt even Cinderella could instantly forget all the cold nights spent sleeping in cinders. Real life has ups and downs, and there will always be hard times. But at the end of the day, there _is_ light, and I truly believe the good times can outweigh the bad. You just need to hold on until you can reach that point.

Thank you all again. See you Monday!


	43. Chapter 405: Omake Interlude

Before I post, I have some great news: I have a copy of the final part of Chapter 41 AND Chapter 42! I found an untitled document on my Google Drive with snippets of some random scenes, and lo and behold it included rough versions of both chapters. Both of them are pretty rough and will need a lot of editing, as I'm guessing these came from an early draft that I copy and pasted with the intent to work on a different computer, but _oh my gosh_ , this is just such a huge relief and weight off my shoulders. Now I'll only _really_ have to rewrite one scene in Chapter 41, and the last scene from 42. I'll still wait an extra week before posting though, so I can make sure they're perfect. These next two chapters are REALLY important, I'd say they actually mark an even bigger change than Wave, so I want them to be as high-quality as possible.

(Also, _Pokemon._ I am not going to have the patience to focus on writing when Alola's waiting me to explore.)

With that wonderful news out of the way, here is the promised omake interlude! I originally hoped to post it Monday, but I got caught up with schoolwork which took precedence. I ended up taking on an unintentional theme here so it reads like a series of _very_ loosely connected drabbles. For ones I got from readers I included the names of whoever suggested them and which site they came from next to the titles. It seriously provided a great way for stress relief, so while some of them are a bit rough, I'm pretty happy with them. I even threw in a few little details hinting at some plot-relevant secrets.

 **Note: This series of omake includes numerous references to underage drinking. I do not support this in any way or form. You have been warned.**

* * *

OMAKE INTERLUDE

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! — Prelude**

"You want to know how to throw an Uzumaki-style birthday?"

Inuzuka Tsume shot Masaru a quizzical look, arching a single eyebrow. The Uchiha just shrugged, shifting uncomfortably under the penetrating gaze of her feral-looking eyes. "Well, yeah," he mumbled.

"And you're asking me because...?"

"You're the only, uh, living participant from the last one." A long silence followed, Tsume studying him critically. Then, her lips curved into a feral grin, her eyes glinting mischievously.

"Alright, pup. I can dig that. Let's do this."

Hours later, Masaru, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura and Kiba sat around Sakura's kitchen table, staring at a plain box on the center of the table. "Why are you here again?" Sasuke asked, arching an eyebrow at the Inuzuka.

"Ma forced me to come," Kiba grumbled, crossing his arms with a huff. "Said something about it being a good experience for me."

"Your mom says the key to an Uzumaki-style birthday is in this box, right?" Sakura asked, and he grunted, scratching his head.

"Yeah, I guess. Ma didn't say what was in it though."

"I never knew there was some kind of Uzumaki tradition," Naruto whispered, staring at the box with a strangely wistful look. Masaru just patted his shoulder consolingly.

"Well, let's open it up and see what's inside," Sakura decided, and leaned forward to open the box. All of the genin held their breaths as she opened the flaps, pulling out... a bottle? A long moment of silence followed.

"Is that sake?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"There's some paper in there, too," Masaru noted, leaning over the box to pull out a folded sheet of paper. Flipping it open, he read the contents and then hung his head with a groan. "You're kidding."

"Let me see that!" Kiba snatched the paper away and read it, his face twisting in surprise. "'Hey kids, the main secret to an Uzumaki-style birthday is to get drop-dead drunk. Might take a while for Naruto. Have fun!'"

A long silence followed, everyone exchanging hesitant looks. Underage drinking did not seem like a normal birthday activity, and all of them felt mildly uncomfortable. But then again, it _was_ Naruto's birthday...

Five minutes later, five genin downed their first shots of sake.

Five hours later, Konoha was on fire.

* * *

 **There Can Only Be One**

"So, we meet at last, Sunburst Sharingan-san..."

"I can say the same, Swirly Pumpkin-san..."

Electric sparks seemed to crackle between the two masked men as they stared each other down, their lone eyes glinting in the shadows of their masks. A dramatic gust of wind blew past them, ruffling their similarly short hair while their cloaks billowed in the breeze. "I have to say, I did not expect to see another guy in a mask," the one with the red mask commented.

"Me neither," the swirly orange mask agreed. "Looks like we have really similar tastes in clothing, too." The other slowly nodded.

"You know what this means, right?"

"Of course." The air seemed to still, and then they slammed their arms onto the table, locking hands in a tight death-grip as they tried to force the other's arm down. Cheers erupted from the drunk bar patrons as a crowd instantly formed around them, rooting for each man.

"I am the only one who gets a mask!" the first one growled, squeezing his enemy's hand tightly as he tried to force it down.

"Never! Tobi wore masks first so Tobi has the right by default!"

"Haven't you ever heard 'first is the worst, second is the best'?"

"That's just stuff kids say to feel better!"

"Says the guy who acts like an overgrown toddler!"

The two continued bickering loudly while trying to force the other's arm to the ground, ignoring the crowd that had amassed to cheer them on. Unnoticed to any of the bar patrons a black-and-white head peeked through the window, yellow eyes watching the impromptu arm-wrestling match with a mixture of disdain and curiosity. "Why are they arm-wrestling over masks?" White Zetsu asked.

" **They're drunk,** " the black half responded flatly. " **No one is immune to alcohol-induced stupidity.** " The other half hummed thoughtfully, and then they both sighed as the masked men abruptly crashed forward into the table.

* * *

 **If Kabuto Revealed the Truth Instead (fortheloveofb, AO3)**

"A-Akari-chan was—k-k-killed by... R-Ryoko-san?"

Hinata stared at Kabuto in shock, her blood icy-cold as her stomach twisted painfully. Akari... Her childhood friend, her _only_ friend, had been killed by _her own mother_? Nausea filled her at the thought, the world seeming to fade away so only her thoughts remained. Why? Why would Ryoko do that? Why did she kill Akari? Why didn't she kill Masaru too?

Oh, kami, _Masaru_. The thought of her first friend's twin prompted her chest to churn in apprehension. Her pale eyes flickered to the side to where Masaru stood, reading the file Kabuto had just presented them. His face looked strangely blank, his black eyes unreadable. Oh, _kami_ , how would he react? His twin got killed by his mother, and—

"DON'T LIE ABOUT MY MOTHER!" Masaru screamed, suddenly launching towards Kabuto with a suddenly flaming fist. The silver-haired genin was too surprised to dodge in time and yelled as Masaru's fist made contact with his gut. Hinata just blinked, watching blankly as her former classmate wailed on the older male and set his clothes and hair on fire.

Well... Maybe she didn't need to worry about Masaru after all.

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! – In the Night**

At one point in the dense fog clouding her memories, a single moment of clarity.

Sakura stands on the rooftop of the Ninja Academy, a kunai dangling from her fingers. Fire rages around her, consuming the world in a bright red blanket. Her lips feel heavy, caked in so many thick layers of lipstick they must be almost half a size larger than before. Below her she can see Sasuke thrashing as a throng of fangirls surge around him, clawing frantically at the sky with red-stained fingertips and pleas for help visible on his lips over the squealing. If she listens closely, she realizes the squeals sound oddly close to ominous chanting.

She looks down at her clothes, squinting in confusion. Ceremonial robes of some sort adorn her body, blue and black and red and white, and the kunai has been painted red and white in a pattern not unlike the Uchiha fan. She looks back to the crowd below, all wearing dark blue robes with red and white sashes, and quickly deduces she has somehow become the leader of a cult of Sasuke's fangirls.

Sakura thinks it over for a moment, and decides she is totally okay with that.

Her too-heavy lips curve into a smile, and her eyes glint with mischief as she makes a new decree to her followers.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MAN, CHA!"

She jumps into the fray, delivering a kick to the first rabid fangirl, and the haze takes over once more.

(Later, she gets another moment of clarity and finds herself at the head of the swarm of fangirls standing before a giant makeshift shrine erected in the Academy's training grounds. Candles illuminate countless shirts adorned with the Uchiha fan and a bunch of random weapons, and cast a golden glow on a mildly terrified-looking Sasuke who sits tied up and surrounded by cats of all things. Judging by the ominous chanting of the robed girls behind her interspersed with _meows_ and _nyans_ , and the fact her shadow has two triangle shapes protruding from her head, she realizes their cult has somehow incorporated the Uchiha clan's penchant for feline summons into their beliefs and has become a cult of Sasuke's Fan-Catgirls.

She is totally okay with that too.)

* * *

 **Gaara Finds the Truth (May525, FF)**

"Kankurou. Temari."

The elder Sang Siblings flinched at their younger brother's voice, slowly turning to the doorway with faces carefully schooled mask their apprehension at his presence. The red-haired jinchuuriki stared at them with unreadable sea foam-colored eyes, a sheath of papers clutched in his hands.

"...Gaara," Temari greeted cautiously after a moment, dipping her head in acknowledgment. "Do you need something?"

"Yes." It took all of their willpower to ignore the instinct to flee for their lives as the youngest brother trailed into the room, extending the sheath of papers towards them. "I need help understanding this." Their eyes trained on the pages instantly, their skin prickling with anticipation and curiosity despite their general apprehension towards their brother.

Ever since arriving in Konoha, Gaara had been slightly different. He'd started showing interest in something, but they didn't know what; he only ever mentioned it to Baki, and the jounin refused to tell them. According to him, these papers should contain the answers to his unknown questions. So naturally, they felt very curious.

It took less than a second to make up their minds, and their hands shot forward at the same time. Kankurou barely managed to snag the papers before Temari could, yanking it from Gaara's grasp and out of her reach. He offered his sister an irritatingly smug smirk, making her scowl. "Hey, let me see!" she snapped, scooting over to peek at them, only to get a light shove.

"Wait your turn," he huffed, smirking as he held up the page so it blocked her view of his face. "Alright, let's see what we have..."

"Kankurou," Temari growled, her eyes flashing venomously. "You have five seconds to show me." No response. "Did you hear me?" Nothing. " _Kankurou...!_ "

Snarling, she swiped at the pages and ripped them from his hands, only to freeze as she saw the pale look on his face. Pale and colorless, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide, and a slight glaze to the eye. Her anger instantly faded to concern, her eyes widening as she dropped the papers to grab his shoulders. "Kankurou? Kankurou, are you okay? What's wrong—?"

She stopped midsentence, her eyes slowly trailing to the papers in her hands. The papers... _What did they say?_ She hesitated, and shot an apprehensive look towards Gaara. He watched her with a blank face. Kid should really try playing poker sometime. Swallowing, she slowly reached for the papers and lifted the cover, and...

The world froze, and her blood chilled.

"' _A Study of Human Fertilization_ '?" she quoted.

Oh dear Sage of Six Paths, _this was about how babies were made_.

"I do not understand how it works," Gaara remarked flatly. "The terminology is too complicated for me to visualize the process properly. I asked Baki, and he directed me to you so Kankurou could explain."

"Me?" Kankurou squawked, snapping out of his stunned stupor. "Wh-what the hell?! H-how the fuck could I help?!"

"He said your puppets would suffice." Kankurou froze, the implications setting in. He made eye contact with Temari, and then whimpered.

Elsewhere Konoha, Kabuto looked down at the hand-copied file on Uchiha Akari sitting on his desk, his eyes narrowed in mild consternation. "...I gave Baki the wrong file, didn't I?"

* * *

 **Zombie Night (kirika o7, FF)**

Uchiha Ryoko had a problem.

See, one minute she was dead.

And now she's been revived with the Edo Tensei, with obvious intentions to harm her son judging by the stricken look on his face.

They stand on opposite sides of the battlefield, Kabuto chuckling darkly behind her as he begins reciting his standard evil monologue. Her fellow Konoha shinobi stare at her with horror, clearly uncomfortable and reluctant about the battle stances they assume. The older ones look poised to flee, which, probably a good idea, since she had the Seven-Beam Sunburst on her side and could easily incinerate everyone there. Of all the people to be revived, she's probably one of the best choices from a strategic standpoint—

"Oh my gosh, you're so _big_!" she squealed, charging forward to lock Masaru in a tight embrace. He stiffened in her grip and dangled limply as she lifted him off the ground to twirl him around, and she just took the opportunity to squeeze him even tighter. "Ooohh, you're as tall as me now! I never thought I'd see the day! And your hair—you cut it! It looks so good!"

"M-Mom!" he stammered, his face glowing bright red with embarrassment. Nearby Sasuke made a choked sound, while Kabuto halted his monologue to stare at her incredulously.

"What the—you shouldn't be able to move of your own volition!"

"Never underestimate the power of an Uchiha's love," Ryoko responded, and released her shell-shocked son to face the man responsible for reviving her with a smile. "By the way, you weren't intending to use me as a weapon against my only son, were you?"

"I—" Kabuto cut off, his brain shutting down temporarily. "What?"

"Kabuto-chan." She offered him the sweetest, most polite smile possible, and her eyes flashed red _oh dear kami that looks so WRONG what the hell abortabortABORT_. "I am going to hurt you now."

A single scream rang loud enough to be heard all across the many battlefields, shinobi both alive and revived turning to look in the direction. "What on earth is that ruckus!?" Onoki demanded, his puffy white eyebrows furrowing in confusion and annoyance. Nearby Obito just sighed and massaged his forehead, muttering under his breath.

"I told him not to revive Ryoko..."

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! – Spray Paint and Feathers  
**

At first, Kiba did not know why his mother insisted he attended Naruto's birthday party.

At some point though, somewhere underneath the alcohol-induced haze that consumed his senses, he understood.

Uzumaki-style birthdays weren't just parties, they were a rite of passage. A stepping stone to adulthood, a night where boys turned into men for a brief, magical moment.

He came to his senses briefly to find himself suspended upside-down from the ceiling of some unfamiliar bedroom. That weird senbon-chewing shinobi who proctored the third exam slept in a bed beneath him, totally oblivious to his presence. Naruto knelt next to his bed, his face stone-serious as he gingerly smeared a dollop of whipped cream across his nose.

Sweat beaded Kiba's brow as his fingers curled around the hollow shaft of the comically long feather, the soft feather-y part of the feather fluttering slightly. Still ever-stoic, Naruto looked up and gave him a small thumbs up, and silently retreated to the opposite side of the room. Kiba swallowed, and his eyes briefly darted to the side. Masaru stood next to him with a can of spray paint, his hair hanging from his head in a singular mass of tangles.

His head turned slightly to face him, and through that largely-impenetrable curtain Kiba glimpsed glowing red eyes glinting with demented glee and accompanied by a too-wide smile, wider than any smile he'd ever seen on the Uchiha. In that moment Masaru looked not like a human but a demon straight from the deepest pits of hell, having clawed its way to the surface to wreak all kinds of untold devastation and horror.

Somehow the sight calmed Kiba, and he turned to face the senbon-chewing shinobi with his resolve firmed. He reached out the feather, and brushed its tip against his nose.

Two minutes later, he fled with a snickering Naruto and a _cackling_ Masaru as the farmer-wannabe chased after them, his face and hands smeared in whipped cream and spray paint. Little did their victim know this was all part of their plan, and Akamaru would be marking his apartment as his territory forever more.

* * *

 **Late Again (wecantgiggleitsacrimescene, AO3)**

Six months had passed since Team Seven became an official team. Six months of working together under the most notoriously tardy jounin to ever walk the planet. They had grown used to waiting for hours on the training field, heck, they even incorporated it into their daily routine.

But this.

This was not okay.

A flurry of leaves, and a familiar masked face appears. "Yo, sorry I'm—"

"SIX HOURS!" Naruto exploded, a cloud of red chakra bursting into existence and coating his body. "WE WAITED SIX HOURS FOR YOU! WHAT THE HELL KAKASHI-SENSEI!"

"Maa, Naruto, calm down," the jounin demurred, waving a hand dismissively. "You're scaring your teammates—ah." He casually tilted his head to the side to avoid a volley of shuriken and kunai. "Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun, your aim is a bit off."

"You left us here for six hours," Sasuke seethed, his Sharingan whirling to life as he glared at the man. "Six. Hours."

"Now, now, I know you're annoyed, but throwing projectiles at your teacher is still rude."

"Rude?" Sakura repeated through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing. "RUDE!?" At this point she was the only genin in the clearing who didn't have red eyes, but the murderous gleam was no less deadly. "WE'RE NOT RUDE! WE SKIPPED LUNCH BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU'D SHOW UP WHILE WE WERE GONE!"

"And I'm sorry, but I got held up."

"BY WHAT!?" All three genin shouted now, radiating varying degrees of bloodlust.

"Well, you see, I was on my way when I saw this gray cat stuck in a tree, and—"

This time he had to actually take a step to avoid the wave of projectile weapons and small fireballs. "Tell us the truth for once, you bastard!" Naruto roared, leaking even MORE Kyuubi chakra. Kakashi just hummed, his infuriating eye smile firmly in place.

"You want the truth? Okay then. I'll tell you." The three genin paused at that, the thick bloodlust permeating the air lessening as they leveled him with expectant looks. Kakashi's eye-smile grew.

"An old cat-lady ambushed me on the road of life and asked me to carry her groceries."

Team Seven's screams could be heard across the village.

* * *

 **So Very Pretty (yvonna, AO3)**

Masaru stared at the kimono, his Sharingan meticulously scrutinizing every detail. Embroidered gold butterflies fluttered across the hem of the dark emerald-green garment, a matching golden obi tying it shut. He blinked, his eyes fading to black, and slowly turned to his teacher. "Why?" he asked flatly.

"I don't know," Tenzo said softly. "I... really don't know."

"Sometimes undercover missions do involve cross-dressing," Kakashi mused next to them, face buried in an Icha Icha book like always. "It's not common, but it's useful to be able to pull it off." He spoke with casual ease. Behind him, all of Team Seven looked incredibly pale and wide-eyed.

On the opposite side of the street Maito Gai cheerily led his unfortunate students on their daily jog around the village, his normal green spandex jumpsuit exchanged for a pretty kimono with his bangs pinned to the side with a butterfly hairclip and his face delicately painted with a light coat of makeup. His students looked unusually subdued and horrified, but mostly they seemed frustrated as they struggled to stay upright in the high wooden geta sandals which replaced their usual sandals. More than once they stumbled, Neji nearly slipped.

"Come, my youthful students!" Gai boomed, laughing boisterously. "We must train now for our next confrontation with our youthful Eternal Rivals!"

Behind Kakashi all three genin suddenly jolted ramrod straight, shooting their sensei incredulous looks. "You didn't," Sasuke whispered, looking unusually horrified. Kakashi simply lifted his eye from his book to flash the boy his characteristic eye-smile, and Sakura blanched.

"You did," she breathed, taking a shaky step back. Naruto looked at his teammates in confusion, as did Masaru. A glance at Tenzo, however, revealed a knowing look in the jounin's eyes.

"Senpai, this might be your most evil idea yet," he muttered. Kakashi's smile could be seen under his mask now.

"Guys, what's going on?" Naruto demanded, and then yelped when Kakashi ruffled his hair.

"Well, you see, my cute little genin, this morning Gai and I decided some friendly competition might be some good incentive for our teams to improve. And luckily for us, Anko happened to overhear, and proposed our first competition will be a basic test of your infiltration skills."

"Infiltration?" Naruto echoed weakly, and Kakashi's smile grew _brighter_.

"Maa, girls' kimonos come in a lot of colors and patterns. I spent hours picking the right ones for you! And of course I got a nice hakama for Sakura-chan, too." Team Seven winced and retreated three steps before vanishing in panicked blurs, not daring to glance back as they fled. Masaru just stared at their retreating forms, then at Team Gai, then at Kakashi.

"...The challenge is actually a race wearing geta, isn't it?" he guessed flatly.

"Yep," Kakashi confirmed cheerfully, his eye twinkling with mischief and mirth. "You won't always be able to wear standard shinobi sandals when undercover, so it's good to get practice with alternative footwear in case you need to make a quick escape. The cross-dressing part isn't part of it. I just want blackmail photos."

"Then why is Gai dressed like that?"

"Anko's idea. Said it would motivate them to finish their daily laps faster. She just smudged the details a bit about _why_ it would."

"Like I said," Tenzo quipped dryly. "Evil." Meanwhile, the crowd of onlookers remained utterly silent as they watched Team Gai disappear down the street, shifting uncomfortably.

No one would admit it, but Gai somehow looked _really_ good in that kimono.

* * *

 **Teacher and Student (Rosamarilla, AO3)**

Haruno Sakura stared at the woman seated across the café in shock, her lunch temporarily forgotten in the woman's majestic presence.

Light seemed to filter through her pale blond locks to give it a soft glow, her bronze eyes glinted with a knowledge and confidence granted only by years of experience. Her ruby-painted lips parted in a small laugh as she delicately sipped from her martini, her cheeks dusted pink with a mixture of blush and drunkenness.

"Oh my goddess," Sakura breathed, lost in awe of the woman.

(Across from her, Naruto and Sasuke exchanged knowing looks. "She's gonna fangirl again, isn't she?" Naruto asked rhetorically. Sasuke didn't even bother answering.)

As if in a trance Sakura found herself rising from her seat, floating across the room towards the blonde goddess. The woman's musical voice drifted to her ears as she drifted closer, deep and mature with age, yet still so pleasing. Sakura's heart skipped a beat, allowing the almost musical tenor to consume her hearing until she heard nothing else.

("Yeeep, there she goes.")

Her hands wrung the hem of her shirt, her steps faltering slightly as she felt a small burst of anxiety. This woman—could someone like Sakura really go up to her? Sakura was a genin from a no-name family, her parents never rose past genin. And this woman—she was so much more. Did she even deserve to stand in the same room as her? Was she even worthy of—

"Hey, kid, do you want something?"

Sakura gave a small jump as the woman suddenly spoke, now facing her. Kami, her eyes... They glittered even _brighter_ up close, they had so much _red_ and _orange_ to them. She'd never seen such beautiful brown eyes before. The woman's head tilted slightly, a strand of spun gold sagging into her face but not falling completely out of place, and her lips pressed together slightly as her perfectly manicured eyebrows furrowed.

("Oh crap, they've made contact. Should we—?")

"Okay, the staring is starting to get a little creepy, brat. If you want something, say it."

(The boys calmly set down their chopsticks and covered their ears.)

Permission to speak. She had to answer, so Sakura's mouth opened, and—

"OHMYGOSH LADY TSUNADE! OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH ILOVEYOUYOU'REAMAZING! PLEASEPLEASE _PLEASE_ TEACH ME!"

Tsunade recoiled violently as Sakura proceeded to ramble and squeal at the top of her lungs, the pink-haired girl's eyes sparkling with excitement. Across the café Naruto and Sasuke just looked at each other and sighed, their shoulders sagging in resignation.

At least she wasn't fangirling over Sasuke.

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! - Troublesome Plans  
**

At some point in the chaos of the night, the rest of the Rookie Ten gets dragged into the festivities, along with Team Gai.

Shikamaru seriously has no idea how the hell he got caught up in the insanity of Naruto's birthday. Whenever he tries to remember, it's just blank. One second he was walking down the street with Chouji to get dinner, and suddenly his memory skips forward several hours and he's sitting on a hill with Ino sagging against his shoulder, giggling drunkenly as she tries to loosely braid flowers into his hair, while Chouji leans against a nearby boulder with a giant tub of popcorn. Blinking into lucidity, Shikamaru quickly assesses the situation, and decides the most pressing issue is probably whatever Masaru, Naruto and Tenten are drawing in the dirt.

"What are you doing?" he asks, eying the runes they've etched into the dirt warily.

"Fuinjutsu," Tenten replies primly, not looking at him.

"...You know fuinjutsu?"

"We read a book once," Naruto proclaims proudly.

"We're gonna make Konoha go boom!" Masaru adds cheerfully, turning to grin at Shikamaru with an almost demonic amount of glee.

Huh. Is this Shikamaru's first time seeing fully active Sharingan?

Blinking slowly, he glances at the runes they're drawing one more time, mulls over the potential consequences if they make a mistake, and reflects over how, as a Chuunin, he should probably try to stop this before something goes horrible wrong.

"Eh, too much effort," he decides with a shrug, and turns to Chouji. "Hey, Chouji, toss me a chip?" His best friend obliges without a word of protest, pulling a chip from the bag and tossing it over to him, and it lands in Shikamaru's hand with an oddly wet plop. He sniffs at the oddly soggy chip, and is assaulted with the smell of alcohol. It occurs to him this _might_ be the source of his memory gap, and he might want to avoid it.

Masaru cackles as the seal array lights up, and Shikamaru decides remembering whatever happens next will be too troublesome.

He takes the chip and eats it, and then there's merciful blackness.

* * *

 **Sleepover with Gaara  
**

Masaru stared at Gaara, smile frozen in place.

Gaara stared back.

Unblinking.

Masaru's smile grew tighter as he silently wondered just how the hell his awkward attempts at conversation somehow ended in proposing a sleepover during the night. And also why the hell Gaara accepted it.

The silence stretched on.

"Um, do you have any pajamas?" he asked politely. "I can go to another room if you want to change—"

"I don't need them because I don't sleep.

A pause.

"...Oh, cool." Masaru's voice came out like a croak.

Gaara kept staring.

"Mother says she wants your blood," he finally declared, and Masaru flinched . His facial muscles might be frozen.

"That's nice," he replied in a way-too-high voice. "My mother's dead." Gaara's eyes narrowed, his head cocked to the side.

"...Mother says you're funny."

"Thank you."

Outside the hotel room, the horde of Leaf and Sand ninja crowded around the door with their ears pressed against the wood silently mimed smacking their foreheads. "Why did we agree to let this happen again?" Izumo hissed.

"I have no idea," Tenzo/Gaku whispered back.

"Sage, this is bad," Temari groaned.

"What was that he said about your mom?" Genma asked under his breath, and the Sand ninja all froze.

"...Multiple personalities?" Kankurou offered hesitantly.

"...Multiple personalities."

"...Yes. Multiple personalities." Baki nodded. "Sure. Let's go with that."

...The Leaf ninja decided not to press it.

* * *

 **A Reason to Learn**

"Father, please teach me the fireball!"

Fugaku stared at his youngest son as he knelt prostate before him, head touching the floor and hands splayed out. Maybe he should be proud to see him asking, but something about how desperate he sounded felt... off. "Sasuke," he said after a moment. "Why do you want to learn it?"

His son stiffened before he slowly raised his head, and Fugaku's blood chilled. Sasuke's face held a cold determination that fit someone several years older, his dark eyes glimmering with steely resolve. "I need to burn it," he declared coldly. "I need to burn it now."

A cold sweat dripped down his back, and he swallowed. "Burn what?" he asked.

" _The omamori._ "

Omamori? Fugaku stared at his youngest quizzically, questioning what this was about. The quiet sigh of his eldest broke his thoughts, and he turned to see Itachi standing in the doorway, a mournful expression on his face as he frowned at his brother. "Foolish otouto," he said sadly. "You can't burn it."

"What? What do you mean I can't—"

"It's filled with fireproof seals. Not even lava can destroy it."

Sasuke's face fell, looking like he'd been punched in the gut. "No... Y-You're lying! You have to be!"

"Sasuke..." Itachi just looked at him sadly. Tears pricked the younger boy's eyes as he scrambled to his feet.

"No! Nonono! I won't believe it! I'll find a way to burn it, I will!" He screamed and raced off, sobbing all the way. Itachi glanced at Fugaku with a slightly dismayed expression, and then quickly ran after him. Fugaku stared after them with a lost expression, confused by the scene he just witnessed. His thoughts were ended by a low giggle, and he turned to see Mikoto standing in the doorway with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, aren't they cute?" she asked sweetly, her black eyes twinkling deviously.

Fugaku took one look at his wife, looked at the evil gleam in her eyes, and experienced a brief flashback to Uzumaki Kushina. He shuddered.

"...Yes," he agreed blankly. "Yes, they are."

He decided he'd be better off not knowing.

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! - YOUTH**

Rock Lee sways on his feet as he stands in the center of a circle composed of his youthful peers, their youthful cheering echoing loudly in his ears. The world is spinning around him and he can't think clearly, but their youthful cheers of support encourages him, fueling his youthful determination to... to... What was it again? Oh yeah, that's right. "Neji, I challenge you!" he slurs, staggering forward with his arms raised in front of his body in a youthful fighting pose.

Neji remains silent.

"Quiet as ever, I see," Lee notes. "However, that will not stop me tonight! We have put this off too long! Tonight, I will prove the value of a genius of hard work!"

"Lee-san..." He hears Neji's timid but youthful cousin—Hinata?—whisper his name behind him. Her youthful voice is deathly soft, full of youthful worry and concern, and for a second Lee hesitates, his steps faltering—

"Go, Bushy-Brow, go!" Naruto roars behind him, and just like that, Lee stands up straight again, his youthful resolve reaffirmed.

That's right. Tonight is Naruto's youthful thirteenth birthday, the first he has ever spent celebrating with his family's youthful traditions of imbibing alcoholic beverages, and it is for his youthful amusement that Lee has summoned his youthful resolve to formally challenge his youthful rival. He turns to flash the youthful blond a giant youthful grin and thumbs up, and he hopes it comes off as youthful and bright as Gai's does.

( _Youth!_ )

"Understood, Naruto-kun!" he declares youthfully, and turns to face Neji. "Now, Neji, we fight!"

With a strangely slurred yell the youthful spandex-wearing boy lunges at his opponent, swinging his fist. A resounding crack echoes through the air, and the crowd goes silent.

Then it winces and utters a sympathetic hiss as Lee releases a high-pitched squeak and cradles his broken hand.

Hinata squeaks and covers her face, while Kiba lets out a low whistle. "Damn. That's gotta hurt."

"'Course it hurts," Shino concurs next to him, his words slurring as he leans against him. "He punch'id a _boulder_. Dat hurts." It should be noted his manner of speech sounds way funnier because it was kinda drawn out, but sadly that kind of talking does not translate into writing very well.

"Whose idea was it to paint Neji's face on the boulder again?" Kiba asks, squinting at the crude drawing of Neji painted on the boulder. It didn't even have color except for the white eyes, just a black outline. Alcohol _clearly_ had some sort of magical properties.

Naruto and Masaru pointedly look away while whistling.

Although the evil smirk Masaru sports kinda takes away from the innocent act.

 _(Youth!_ )

* * *

 **If the Chuunin Exams Arc went According to Canon and Sasuke Runs Away to Orochimaru**

"Sasuke, just to double-check, _why_ are you leaving Konoha?" Masaru asked.

"Because Orochimaru can give me the power I need to kill _that man_ ," Sasuke replied, not looking back at him as he leapt through the trees.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh... And you think Konoha can't give you that power because...?"

"Orochimaru killed the Third Hokage. Meanwhile, _that man_ ," he spat the word, "took out Kakashi with a look. Clearly, Konoha's standards are below what I need."

"Fair enough," Masaru allowed. "One more question though: _why the hell are you taking me?_ " He shot his cousin an annoyed glare, not able to do much else considering he was currently tied up and strapped to Sasuke's back like a backpack as the other boy leapt from tree to tree.

"You are the last living family member I will acknowledge," Sasuke responded flatly, still not bothering to look at him. "If Konoha can't give me the power to kill that man, then there's no way in hell they can protect you." Masaru just groaned and let his head fall back against Sasuke's, staring at the forest blankly.

"Right, sure. Hold on, just a second. HEY GUYS! WE'RE OVER HERE!" Sasuke nearly slipped as Masaru basically screamed in his ear, halting with a hiss.

"Idiot! Are you trying to let them find us!?" he hissed. Masaru just stared at him flatly.

"...Duh. NARUTO, SHIKAMARU, WE'RE HERE BY THE BIG OAK TREE!"

"Stop it!" Sasuke hissed, slapping a hand over his mouth.

"MASARU! SASUKE! WE'RE COMING!" Naruto hollered in the distance, and Sasuke's shoulders fell with an exasperated groan. Masaru just smirked smugly, totally content to wait for his other friends to come save him and knock some sense into his idiot cousin. Who said playing damsel in distress wasn't always fun?

* * *

 **Ryoko and Shisui**

"Aunt Ryoko, who's that?" five-year-old Uchiha Shisui asked, blinking at his aunt/cousin/technical-half-sister curiously. (Having identical twins for mothers was _weird_.)

"Oh, this is Yashamaru-san," Ryoko replied breezily, her gaze focused on the canvas. "He's a political prisoner from Suna who's too important to be tortured, so I'm in charge of housing him instead."

"Oh." Something about that sounded strangely serious and kinda off, but after a moment Shisui decided to let it slide. "Wait, is he a guy?" Ryoko paused, and turned to look at Shisui with a fond smile.

"Oh, silly Sui-chan, of course he is," she assured him sweetly. "Granted, I haven't seen any proof, but he says he is so I believe him."

"There is something horribly wrong with you," Yashamaru groaned, his cheeks growing even pinker under the light dusting of blush. Shisui studied him curiously, eying his pretty dark blue robes with colorful red and purple and gold accents, tied together with a red and purple sash. Not exactly a kimono, but still really pretty and formal-looking.

"You're pretty," Shisui complimented him with the innocence only a five-year-old can possess. Yashamaru groaned and hung his head, his sandy hair falling in front of his eyes.

"Why did I agree again?"

"Because you're my latest muse, of course," Ryoko replied cheerfully. "Now raise your head, I need to get the eyes just right!" Yashamaru reluctantly raised his head, his blue eyes looking dead inside.

(Years later that Shisui would stand in the Kazekage's office, staring at a portrait of a pretty woman in blue and purple robes who the plaque declared to be the Kazekage's wife, and he would feel a silent twinge of remorse for his younger cousins/technical-niece-and-nephew, or maybe half-niece and half-nephew...?)

(Seriously, having identical twin moms is REALLY weird.)

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-Style! – Not Again**

It took Naruto a long time to get drunk. Longer than he expected, in fact.

It took Masaru two shots to get drunk.

Naruto thought Masaru was a really funny drunk. He got into all kinds of trouble, he just ran around playing pranks constantly. Some of the ideas he'd conceived during this glorious night made Naruto sniffle with pride, and he felt genuinely honored to be in the presence of such a pranking genius. If only Masaru could be like this all the time.

At this point they've somehow ended up alone, and Masaru was just clinging to him while swaying violently, pointing out all kinds of random stuff with this really happy excited energy he normally didn't have. "And o'er there's the houshe where Mashahige likesh to steal tuna!" he declared, cheerily pointing to a small bungalow. "They never realized it was him though.

"Tuna? That sounds gross," Naruto responded. "Ramen'sh da way ta go!"

"Yeah, I dun' like tuna," Masaru agreed, and then nudged Naruto's ribs with his elbow. Naruto, caught in the throes of drunkenness, lost his balance from the jab and almost fell over, but Masaru easily snagged his shoulder with one hand while using the other to point at an alleyway. "Look, kitty!"

The raccoon stared at them with a quizzical look as it sat atop the trash can, its eyes glinting in the dim light which managed to enter the shadowy alley. "Oh, yeah, a stripey kitty," Naruto said with a sage nod. "Those're rare, aren'tay?"

The raccoon decided it would be wise to get away from the strange humans, and abandoned its trashcan perch to retreat into the darkness. The boys chorused in dismay, charging towards the alley. "Come back! We just wanna pet'oo!" Masaru screamed.

"I can't see it!" Naruto whined. The alley was too dark.

"Me neither—wait, oh yeah." Masaru suddenly stopped and switched on his Sharingan (was that how you phrased it? "Switched On"? Meh, _who cares?_ ), using its heightened ocular abilities to survey the darkness for their new raccoon kitty friend. Naruto made an impressed sound, stopping to stare at the bright red orbs. They glowed really bright in the darkness, naturally drawing one's attention to it, and they looked kinda pretty.

"Woah, your eyes look awesome," he breathed, and Masaru turned to face him. Their eyes locked, and suddenly the alley faded and they stood in a sewer facing a looming shadow.

And just like that, Naruto's drunken buzz vanished, replaced by stone-cold sobriety as he stared up at the Nine-Tailed Fox. "Oh, crap," he whispered, face draining of color. The Fox leered down at the two humans with glowing red eyes, his gaze lingering on Masaru, and then—

"Not again," he groaned, head flopping into his paws in utter exasperation.

* * *

 **Kushina's Fifteenth Birthday**

Kushina stared at Ryoko in horror, her drunken buzz totally dashed as she covered her mouth. The Uchiha stared up at the fox bound to the wall with bulky stakes impaled through his limps, abdomen and tails, straining against the chains binding him. "Filthy Uchiha scum!" he snarled. "Get those bloody eyes away from me!"

Ryoko just stared at him, the alcohol pink tint to her cheeks the sole bit of color on her pale face. Kushina watched her anxiously, gnawing her nails as she waited for her friend ( _please please PLEASE still be my friend_ ) to say something, anything. This was not how she wanted Ryoko to find out—actually, she never wanted her to find out. How was she supposed to know that the Sharingan would let her enter Kushina's mindscape!?

"Kushina-chan?" Kushina stiffened, her breath catching in her throat.

"Y-yeah, Riko-chan?" she stammered, her voice WAY too shaky.

"Is that the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"...Y-yes?" Oh sweet Sage, when this was over she swore to never, ever, _EVER_ touch another drop of alcohol so long as she lived—

"Can... Can I pet him?"

The Kyuubi stopped its thrashing to stare at the Uchiha girl incredulously, mirroring the stunned look Kushina sported. "...What," it deadpanned.

"Your fur looks so _soft_!" Ryoko burst, fluttering towards him with a giant smile. "Please, please, PLEASE can I touch you? I just want to pet it, just a li'l bit, not too hard, and—"

As she continued to ramble drunkenly, the fox slowly turned his head to meet Kushina's gaze, the jinchuuriki and bijuu for once in perfect agreement on something:

 _Uchiha Ryoko should never be allowed to touch alcohol._

* * *

 **This Almost Happened in the Invasion**

Tenzo grimaced as he dove out of the alley, weaving through the thick wave of kunai hurled his way. People had been attacking him left and right since he left the stadium, and he was getting sick of it. He didn't have _time_ for this, he needed to get to the seal array so he could restrain Gaara!

"Going somewhere?" a voice asked from above, and he skidded to a halt and shot a wary look at the rooftops, hands raising in preparation to form a seal, only to freeze. An unfamiliar figure in a black cloak crouched on the edge of the roof, hood pulled over his head to cast a shadow on a blood-red mask. Tenzo's blood chilled, his eyes widening in recognition of the mask with a twisted black sunburst.

 _This was the man who kidnapped Kakashi._

Any plans to just run away vanished as he turned to face the man, feet sliding into an offensive stance as he formed the beginnings of a hand seal. "What do you want?" he growled warily, glaring at the dangerous stranger. "Are you back for Kakashi?"

"Nah, I'm done with Kakashi for now," the masked man replied with a dismissive wave. "I'm here for you, sweet-cheeks!"

Tenzo's brain halted as he processed the words.

"What." Oh dear kami was this guy after the Mokuton now!?

"Well, if you want to be exact about it, it's less me stalking you and more I just happened to see you running by," the man continued breezily, apparently oblivious to Tenzo's growing horror. "This is more of a happy coincidence for me." Then he blinked out of existence and Tenzo stiffened, eyes darting around in apprehension and _wait was he slinging his arm over his shoulder?_

Yes, yes he was, Tenzo thought with a giant spike of panic as the stranger jovially slung an arm over his shoulder, pulling him closer in a sort of friendly manner. "I missed you so much, Tenzo-chan!" he boomed with a loud chuckle. "It's great to see you again, old pal!" As he spoke the stranger raised his other hand to intercept a kunai aimed straight at them, catching the loop on the its end with a single finger and then expertly sliding it into his hand to throw it in the direction it came from. He never looked away from Tenzo as he did this, the action taking only half a second to complete, but even so a scream echoed from the direction he threw it.

...It suddenly occurred to him that this guy might be more dangerous than he originally thought. And seeing as his reported repertoire of skills already included medical surgery on an endangered doujutsu and _goddamn teleportation_ , that was saying a lot.

"Anyways," the stranger continued blithely even as Tenzo grew ever stiffer under his arm, "What're you up to? You seemed like you were in kind of a rush. Need a lift?"

"I... Wh-what?" Tenzo sputtered, his heart stopping.

"You look like you were headed towards the forest," the stranger noted cheerfully. "Why don't I give you a hand?"

"W-what are you talking—" Tenzo cut himself off with a scream as the world suddenly blurred around him, and suddenly the war-torn streets of Konoha was replaced by a lush overgrown forest. He staggered and fell to his knees with a gasp, clutching at his head to stop the spinning.

"Oh, sorry, probably should've warned you to get ready," the man commented sheepishly above him. "It's kinda rough the first few times." Tenzo just shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to block the blurring of the world.

"W-what the hell do you want!?" he yelled.

"...Maybe just a quick one?" the other replied sheepishly, and Tenzo lifted his head to demand what the hell that meant when—

Something warm and soft pressed against his lips.

It took approximately two seconds to process that the warm _something_ was, in fact, another pair of lips, and at that point his brain proceeded to shut down. The stranger pulled back and pulled his mask back over his mouth, offering him a small wave.

"Bye Tenzo-chan, it was nice seeing you again! Good luck with whatever you're after!" He blinked out of existence, and Tenzo just sat on the ground with a glazed look in his eye.

He was still sitting there when several of Kakashi's ninken showed up, staring at the spot the stranger had occupied.

 _Who the hell IS that!?_

* * *

 **Birthdays, Uzumaki-style! — The Aftermath**

Masaru groaned softly as his consciousness stirred, slowly zoning into reality. His eyes refused to open, requiring way too much force to pry his eyelids apart, and once he did he slammed them shut with a groan. _Too bright... Everything's so bright._ He moaned softly as he remained laying in place, trying get a hold of the situation. His head... Damn, it really hurt. And why did the ground feel so lumpy?

 _Wait..._

Alarm surged through him as he slowly sat up, holding his head as the motion caused it to swim. Rubbing his eyes, he forced himself to pry them open one more time and tried to ignore the light as he looked around.

Bodies littered his apartment's living room, immobile and distorted by the stripe-patterned shadow cast by the slats of the window blinds. His breath caught in his throat, a spike of horror banishing any remaining drowsiness. Falling back, his hand scrambled for support and brushed something soft and fuzzy, and a glance downward revealed... gray? His sleep-addled brain gave him pause, staring at the color sleepily.

The gray thing shifted under his grip, and Masaru's eyes moved to lock with a pair of terrified beady black eyes belonging to a random raccoon, the small mammal staring at him with no small amount of terror.

Masaru's brain shut down for approximately five seconds.

Then he screamed, and the others in the room all snapped to consciousness with a chorus of more shrieking, bolting upright in varying states of shock and alarm. Then _more_ shouts followed as they recognized the positions they were in.

Lipstick stains of varying colors smeared Sasuke's face, Sakura seemed to be wearing a cat onesie with ceremonial markings painted on her face, Kiba and Akamaru had apparently been using Chouji as a pillow, Chouji had been using _Shikamaru_ as a pillow and upon waking had accidentally shifted into a position which currently smothered the boy, Neji and Ino's hair had been braided together, Lee wore a _red_ jumpsuits instead of green, Shino and Tenten both had a lot really wobbly scribbled marks vaguely resembling seals painted on their faces, and Hinata—

Hinata opened her eyes to find herself snuggled against Naruto's chest, and upon realizing this she promptly fainted and fell back onto his chest. The blond fell onto his back with a small "oof," staring at the ceiling totally bewildered.

"What the hell is going on!?" he yelled, but no one had an answer.

While the Rookie Ten struggled to gain their bearings, across the village.

Outside the small room, the rest of Konoha woke up to scenes of devastation across the village, several buildings now sporting technicolor paint jobs and nearly every store window covered with some sort of graffiti. At the Academy, Umino Iruka surveyed the charred landscape of the training field with a stricken expression, the wooden posts reduced to smoldering lumps and countless test papers torn and sprinkled across the ground like confetti.

"I... How?" he whispered, struggling to find words. "How did this...?" As he trailed off, next to him Sarutobi Hiruzen just sighed and shook his head.

"It appears Uzumaki-style birthdays will haunt me until the day I die," he murmured wryly.

* * *

 **Kushina's Fifteenth Birthday — The Aftermath**

Ryoko moaned softly as she stirred from consciousness, flinching at the light pounding in her head as her body gently bounced. "Ugh... frick, my skull."

"Take it easy, Riko, you got really drunk last night," someone commented quietly, the jostling lessening ever so slightly as... _something_ , shifted around her thighs. "You'll have a hell of a hangover." She groaned again, rubbing her cheek against the firm fabric-coated surface... huh? Puzzled, she forced one eye to pry open ever so slightly, just enough to glimpse the dark blue fabric. At the angle she could just peek the outer rim of a red circle, so...

She hummed, letting her eyes close. "Ryuusuke, where're we going?" she murmured.

"My house. No way am I leaving you to deal with a hangover alone." Ryoko nestled against his back, her lips lifting into a faint smirk.

"Careful, I'm an unwed teenage girl. What will people say if they find out?"

"I hardly think that's the largest concern," he quipped dryly. "Considering I found you unconscious in a pile of flaming debris spooning Mikoto. And that doesn't even touch on the packs of feral dogs and cats having a turf war outside the academy. I think the Hokage will want to talk to all of you when this is over." His voice took on a slightly scolding note but he still spoke softly. That was nice, it didn't hurt too much.

"I blame Shina. She's the one who brought out the sake."

"Riko, you are so much trouble," Ryuusuke sighed, and she could imagine him shaking his head, his dark brown bangs falling into his eyes without his hitai-ate to keep them tied back. Her lips curved into a more genuine smile, her fingers curling around the fabric of his shirt as she leaned her head against his back.

"But you love me anyway," she murmured, and his steps paused, a moment of silence falling.

"...That, I do," he agreed quietly, and resumed walking.


	44. Chapter 41: Knowledge Is Torture

**So sorry for the delay everyone!** I got caught up in finals (still am, in fact) and wanted to make sure this chapter and the next would be ready before posting them. See, these chapters are INCREDIBLY important and will affect the future of the story. I'll say now the two middle scenes in this one are a bit rough and wonky because I had to rewrite them from scratch, and it just never felt right compared to how I remembered it. I'm still not as happy with them, but I've already spent long enough tweaking them. What _really_ matters in this chapter is the final scene. So thankful I found it (and the next chapter, too!) on my Google Docs.

However, with that said, there's a chance I'll have to go on another brief hiatus after Chapter 42 is posted because I've had no time to write anything new. Chapter 42 marks a sort of mental "end point" in my head, and the next chapter after that starts a new arc. Everything up to now has had SOME basis in canon, but no more. Everything from here on out is 100% original, and the next arc in particular is a CRUCIAL one to the overall story so I'll need some time to work out the details. I feel bad to say I'll probably go on hiatus again so soon, but Chapter 42 is thankfully a good point for a hiatus.

With all that out of the way, please enjoy this chapter. As usual, please leave a comment/review with your thoughts. This chapter especially, I _really_ look forward to seeing what you think of the cliffhanger at the end and if anyone predicted this.

* * *

Chapter 41

* * *

 _"They say ignorance is bliss. If that's the case, what does that make knowledge?"_

* * *

Shibuki sighed as he sat on a bench outside the hospital entrance, sipping from a chilly cup of icy lemonade to combat the late summer heat. Konoha summers proved far hotter than the mild ones in Taki, and even in civilian clothes the heat felt suffocating. He hunched forward dismally, wiping the sweat gathered beneath his bangs, only to pause as he noted a shadow glide overhead.

He tilted his head back in time to glimpse a hawk disappear over the roof of the hospital, his brow furrowing. Though he'd only seen it for a few seconds, he recognized the white-tipped tail as a distinctive trait of a species native to Wind Country. _A messenger hawk from Suna?_ He frowned as he mulled over the implications. Two days ago an envoy had been dispatched to Suna to gather the necessary individuals for diplomatic negotiations, but this would be too soon for a reply.

His lips curled back in a grimace, wincing in mild apprehension. Since the invasion, Rasa's fate remained unknown; at this point everyone assumed that he'd been killed by Orochimaru, they just didn't know when. Looks like confirmation might finally be here though.

"Shibuki-san?" He paused at a faintly familiar voice, and turned to see a brown-haired boy standing nearby. He shifted slightly on the bench, eying the boy speculatively. Something about him seemed familiar, and he apparently even knew Shibuki's name, so why didn't he—

 _Click._

"Masaru?" Shibuki blinked, staring at the boy in shock as he finally placed his face. "Your hair, it's—it's _short_." Masaru's unruly and tangled mane, which had been his most identifying feature, had been roughly shorn to end at his chin. Tufts of brown hair still poked out in every direction in a permanent mockery of a bad case of bedhead, but the difference in length rendered it almost unrecognizable. The Uchiha shifted slightly, his dark eyes averting to the side.

"Ah, yeah... It's a big change." Masaru smiled sheepishly, reaching for the back of his neck only to suddenly stiffen as his fingers brushed air. Wincing, he slowly lowered his hand and fisted it at his side. The motion brought Shibuki's attention to a paper bracelet on his wrist, and he leaned forward.

"Did you just get out of the hospital?" he asked, and Masaru looked at him in confusion and mild alarm before his eyes suddenly flitted to the bracelet on his wrist, understanding flashing in his eyes as he relaxed.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I got chakra exhaustion during the invasion. I was just discharged a few minutes ago." The corners of Shibuki's mouth lifted into a small smile.

"I see. Chakra exhaustion is pretty serious. Hokuto-san—the jounin sensei for the genin team who were in the exams—is still there for it right now. You should probably go home and rest."

"Yeah, I should," Masaru agreed quietly, but didn't move to leave.

"Is there something on your mind?" Shibuki asked after a moment, and the Uchiha averted his gaze once more, rocking on his feet uncomfortably.

"Um... It's about Fu." The abrupt mention of his village's jinchuuriki sent a jolt through Shibuki, suddenly on full alert. He set down the cup onto the bench next to him as he leaned forward, his dark eyes gleaming with newfound scrutiny.

"What about her?" he asked, carefully measuring his tone to avoid giving away his thoughts. Masaru flinched slightly, sucking in a small breath.

"W-well, I just had a lot of free time, and I got to thinking..."

* * *

Sakura swayed on the balls of her feet as she stood before the row of vending machines, hands folded behind her back as she hummed thoughtfully. She appeared to be entranced in their contents to the point that she totally failed to notice Sasuke standing mere feet behind her, rooted to the spot as he stared at his teammate's back.

Even now, he couldn't really say why he decided to search out Sakura instead of following his cousin. Logically, he _should_ have accompanied Masaru back to the apartment to make sure he arrived safely. Instead, though, his feet carried him after the flash of pink he'd spied turn a corner, even though he had no guarantee it would be Sakura. It could have been someone's... hat, or something. Come to think of it, not many other people in Konoha had pink hair. Sasuke _could_ think of a few, but none as bright as Sakura's.

Still, though. For whatever reason he had chosen to pursue her instead, so he might as well follow through. He cocked his head and asked, "Sakura?" The pink-haired kunoichi jumped with a startled yelp and whirled to face him, her eyes wide with surprise. Distantly, he wondered if he looked the same.

" _Bad_ " would barely begin to describe the way Sakura looked. Her skin had an unusually pallid tint to it, her eyes lined with dark bruise-like markings that hinted at a heavy lack of sleep. Even her hair, usually kept as pristine as possible outside of missions or training, looked unkempt and messy. Sasuke instantly became more alert, a line of dread slithering down his spine.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" she stammered. "What are you—" The question died on her lips, understanding flickering in her eyes. "Oh! Is Masaru...?" She trailed off, letting the question hang in the air. Sasuke grunted softly as he shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to hide his mild discomfort at the subject.

"He's fine. He got discharged this morning."

"Oh, good," she sighed, genuine relief flashing across her features. "I was worried about him, but I never got a chance to visit after the invasion." Sasuke frowned, turning his gaze to settle on her more fully.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned lowly. His brows knitted together as his eyes skimmed her body, searching for any visible wounds. "Did you get hurt?"

"What? N-no, not at all!" She waved her hands in a placating manner, and Sasuke paused before leveling a deadpan stare at the bandages wound around her palms. Noticing his stare, she followed his gaze and then winced. "W-well, okay, I skinned my knuckles, back when I punched Temari. But that's all! Really!"

"Why are they bandaged? Can't you heal them with the mystical healing palm or something?" Sasuke did not know much about the exact mechanics of the Mystic Palm Technique beyond the basic summary Sakura had given back at his birthday lunch, but he thought that mending skin would be one of the simpler tasks. At the very least, it seemed easier than healing broken bones.

Apparently he assumed correctly, as Sakura assumed a somewhat sheepish look at the query, her eyes flitting to the side. "Well, I could, but... Having the bandages makes me feel, kinda... tough?" A brief silence followed as Sasuke processed her words, his eyebrow raising.

"It makes you feel tough," he repeated blandly. Sakura winced and ducked her head, her cheeks dusting with a not too different from her cherry blossom-colored hair. However, the small burst of color provided a stark contrast to the overall pale tint to the rest of her face, reminding him of his original intent. "If you're not here for an injury, then why _are_ you here?"

Another wince and the faint blush faded, her eyes dimming, and a sudden chill washed over Sasuke as his stomach sank at the gloomy atmosphere which suddenly radiated from Sakura. _Not good._

"...My dad got caught up in the invasion," she confided lowly, not meeting his gaze. "He's going to be fine, but... he got hurt pretty bad, and, well. Doctors had to amputate his leg."

Sasuke's stomach physically lurched at the news, an unexpectedly strong sense of horror washing over him despite having never met the man. His breath fled in a rush like he'd been punched in the gut and he felt his throat tighten, only able to stare at her in shock. "Sakura," he started, but stopped there, at a loss for words.

What could he even say to that? " _I'm sorry your dad almost died?_ " The mere thought of asking that almost made him want to laugh. He knew better than anyone how meaningless such empty platitudes felt. But despite that, he honestly couldn't think of anything else to say. Comforting people had never been his strong suit; kami knows he struggled enough with Masaru.

As he struggled for something—anything—to say, Sakura suddenly raised her head to look at him, a cheery smile pasted on her face. "Don't worry, it's okay. He's a bit upset but he's already getting over it. He and mom are already back to bickering in his room over silly stuff, although he's kinda slurring everything because of the painkillers. It sounded pretty silly, so I decided to step out and get a snack."

She laughed but the sound rang false, far too flat and devoid of any mirth. Sasuke just stared at her in horror, unable to keep the apprehension and concern out of his usually stoic face. That laugh, that smile—it was all so _wrong_ , so fake and forced.

While no where near as obnoxiously bright and cheery as Naruto, Sakura had never been particularly melancholic. Sakura tended to wear her heart on her sleeve, able to easily switch from enthusiastically gushing over his best traits one second to furiously yelling at Naruto the next. So to see her with such a fake cheery demeanor, plastering on a false smile with such a hollow laugh—

He didn't like it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could make a sound they heard a loud crash in the distance. The pair startled and turned to look at the end of the hall, and Sasuke's eyes widened as he recognized a familiar voice shouting in dismay. "Is—is that Naruto?" Sakura asked, echoing his thoughts.

Sasuke didn't respond—maybe he _couldn't_ , too overwhelmed by the sudden deluge of thoughts that abruptly assaulted his brain. Memories of their last encounter surged to the front of his mind, of watching the blond scream at the giant toad over the furious roars from Gaara. " _He didn't_ _ask_ _to have the Ichibi sealed inside him, dammit! Just like I didn't ask the Fourth Hokage to_ _seal the damn Kyuubi in me either!_ _"_

Jinchuuriki. That had been the word Kakashi used to describe people with a Tailed Beast sealed inside them. Despite how absurd the idea of Naruto being one sounded, so many things made sense. His ridiculously deep reserves, the malevolent aura he exuded back in Wave, the Third Hokage's obvious care for his well-being, how easily he accepted Kakashi's explanation about Gaara and didn't ask any questions despite not even knowing something as basic as how _chakra_ worked—

Everything made sense, and Sasuke still had no idea what to make of this revelation. Honestly, he hadn't even really thought about it since the invasion ended; his mind had been occupied by more... pressing matters. The only time it crossed his mind had been when Kakashi had briefly stopped by that night to warn him not to tell anyone, but otherwise his attention had been focused elsewhere.

However, now that he knew Masaru would be fine, Sasuke couldn't really avoid the fact any longer. Especially since said teammate appeared to be in the hospital causing some sort of trouble at this very moment. The thought of facing Naruto while still actively processing all the implications of this information made his throat seize up in apprehension, his body going stock still as he stood rooted to the ground.

As his mind continued to reel in mild shock they heard another crash followed by a startled yell, and then he saw a red and pink blur surge past him. "UZUMAKI NARUTO, YOU BETTER NOT BE CAUSING TROUBLE!"

...Well at least it seemed one thing about his teammates wouldn't change.

* * *

Logically speaking, Masaru knew the village would suffer damage from the invasion. People had been throwing high-power jutsu left and right, they had no time to worry about collateral damage to surrounding buildings. He'd seen a few fires while running along the roofs, and he knew that some of the summons he'd seen in the distance would be far too large to neatly fit in the narrow streets.

Yet now that stood before a mountain of debris, without the adrenaline from an ongoing invasion clouding his mind, the reality of the situation fully settled in and left his chest feeling strangely heavy.

What had once been a two-story apartment building had been reduced to nothing but a pile of plaster and wood, its absence a gaping hole between the two buildings flanking it. While he didn't live there and had never gone inside, the building had become a familiar sight to Masaru over the years on his daily walks. To find it just suddenly... _gone_ , filled him with a strange mixture of confusion and emptiness.

Of course, the neighboring buildings hadn't escaped unscathed either. Stray kunai and shuriken still protruded from high up one wooden wall, chunks of concrete missing in the center of crater-like cracks of another building. One even had telltale char marks around a broken window hinting at a powerful fire jutsu aimed at someone hiding inside. Yet for all the damage they sustained, they still stood.

The apartment building didn't.

"Where will he live now?" he asked quietly, staring at the rubble with hollow eyes before shaking his head. He'd already gotten held up long enough at the hospital after running into Shibuki, he should _really_ get home now. Sighing softly, he tore his gaze from the debris and turned to leave, only to pause as something caught his eye. An unfamiliar boy sat on a low half-wall across from the debris, a sketchbook open on his lap as he painted.

Masaru found himself freezing, his eyes fixating on the paintbrush. The boy's hand glided across the page with an expert ease, dashing stroke upon stroke on the page with little hesitation. The rhythmic motions of the brush had an almost hypnotic effect on Masaru, lulling him into a trance-like state. He didn't even notice himself approaching the boy until he'd opened his mouth to ask, "What are you drawing?"

"The rubble." The boy didn't look his way, his gaze flitting upwards briefly towards the remains of the apartment building before returning to the page. "I do not get many chances to paint scenes like this, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity before it gets cleared away."

Had he said that to anyone else, they likely would have found his blunt attitude towards the devastation wrought upon their village off-putting. Normal people did not look at rubble and think of artistic inspiration. As the son of an avid artist who passed on her love of the craft to her two children, Masaru just nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, that's true," he mused. "Do you have a particular idea for a painting in mind?"

"Not yet, but I believe this will be useful for whenever I decide to draw a scene requiring such scenery."

"That's a good idea." A brief silence fell, only the soft swish of the brush against the paper filling the silence. "Can... Can I watch?"

The boy paused, his dark eyes sliding over to Masaru for the first time since their conversation began. "If you wish," he replied after a moment, his gaze returning to the paper. Masaru quickly scrambled onto the wall to sit next to him, peering over his shoulder curiously.

The drawing looked relatively accurate to the real thing. The mess of jumbled lines and strokes merged together to form concrete chunks and splintered wood, using a simplistic style yet still managing to depict a majority of the minute visual details and almost perfectly to scale. With a few flicks of the wrist the boy added a few more strokes to one large stone chunk, creating tiny cracks almost identical to the real thing.

A warm sense of nostalgia settled over Masaru as he watched the other work in silence, his mind flickering back to the long days he'd spent sitting in his mother's studio watching her paint. Blank canvases would transform into detailed masterpieces under her hand, crafting intricate imagery over the course of anywhere from a few minutes to several days. This boy painted with the same sort of confidence she had, adding simple yet well-placed strokes with a simple flick of the wrist.

"I rarely have an audience," he commented, drawing Masaru from his reverie. "Is it really so interesting to watch me work?" Masaru blinked at him owlishly, taking a moment to process the question.

"Well, yeah," he responded, his head tilting to the side. "It's cool to see an expert work."

"I wouldn't call myself an expert. I still have much to learn about painting."

"That's true for everyone though. My mom used to say a real artist never stops learning." The other boy's paintbrush stilled as his eyes slid over to him, seeming to be deep in thought.

"Your mother... That would be Uchiha Ryoko, would it not?" Hearing her name caused Masaru to give a small start, eying the stranger critically.

"...How do you know that?" he asked warily, but the other boy seemed nonplussed by his suspicion.

"Your jacket has the Uchiha fan on it," he replied simply. "Only two people wear that crest now, and I've been told one of them is Uchiha Ryoko's son. I've seen her artwork around town, her style is quite aesthetically pleasing. I always thought it was a shame she never entered it professionally after her retirement, I would have liked to have an art book for my collection."

Masaru relaxed slightly as he listened to the stranger's reasoning, nodding along with a small smile. He'd seen some of his mother's paintings around town on occasion; she'd made a habit to gift them to local businesses she enjoyed. Even now he'd sometimes walk into a new store or cafe and recognize his mother's signature on a painting he'd never seen before.

"Yeah... She liked painting, but she said art critics were too stuffy and annoying to deal with it all the time. Something about them being 'pretentious pricks who can't tell a three-year-old's scribbles from abstract art'?" Ryoko had ranted about Konoha's art scene a _lot_.

The other boy hummed, his gaze returning to his drawing. "I have not dealt with professional art critics, so I don't know whether that's accurate or not. However, I do not particularly care for others' opinions anyway, so I suppose it would not matter."

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you're pretty good," Masaru offered. The other boy paused, glancing at him from the corner of his eye before turning his head to face him fully.

"Thank you," he replied, and the corners of his mouth lifted into... _something_. It looked _like_ a smile, but the expression failed to reach his eyes, making it ring false. Something about it felt mildly off-putting, somehow surpassing any other fake smile Masaru had seen. Then again, he hardly had any room to judge him given his own social awkwardness.

"You're welcome," he replied with a feeble smile of his own. The odd smile vanished from the other boy's face, replaced by a thoughtful look.

"Ah. Pardon me, I just realized I did not introduce myself."

"You didn't?" Masaru blinked, surprised to realize that he was right. Wait... Did he just have a normal conversation with a total stranger? Reviewing the past five minutes, he quickly confirmed that yes, he did engage in actual, functional social interaction with someone—and not only that, he _initiated_ it. Wow. He was on a roll today.

...Why did he suddenly see a montage of other failed attempts scrolling through his head?

Wincing slightly at a few of the memories, he shoved them away and smiled a bit more. "Well, you seem like you already know, but I'm Uchiha Masaru." The other boy hummed, carefully setting down his brush before turning to face him with another maybe-smile plastered onto his face.

"I am called Sai. It is a pleasure to meet you, Masaru-kun."

* * *

Deep beneath the village's surface, Itachi crept through a dark tunnel with only the dim glow of the row of dull lanterns lining the walls to light his way, clad in the stolen ANBU armor for what would hopefully be the final time.

A mere hour ago, he had finally delivered the research notes on the Edo Tensei which the Second Hokage had told him about in the Tsukuyomi. Receiving the task—which had been phrased as a mission—from the _deceased_ Second Hokage had felt... surreal, to put it lightly. Certainly not something he ever expected. But then, the entire past three days had felt almost like a dream.

When he left Konoha that fateful night five years ago, Itachi had never expected a chance to serve his village in an even _remotely_ open sense again. Yet during the invasion he'd not only accepted a mission from Senju Tobirama—one of his role models as a child—but he'd also been able to use his abilities to help defend his own Hokage. Yes, he'd been disguised in a stolen ANBU uniform the entire time, but even so the opportunity had felt strangely... freeing. Satisfying, and heart-achingly nostalgic.

Alas, that brief sense of contentment ended with the invasion, when his missing-nin status forced Itachi to hide in the shadows once more. Finding the notes had taken some time due to his limited ability to move, but now that he had completed the Second's request, he had no reason to remain in Konoha any longer. Leaving left him with mixed emotions, because for as much as the village evoked fond memories and sweet nostalgia, seeing the ruins of familiar memories ravaged by war also invoked a sense of bitter loss in more ways than one.

No, Itachi suspected he would feel much lighter once he'd made some distance from the village. Not much—he would never be able to return to those halcyon days of his childhood again—but better than the heaviness which weighed upon him now.

His musings ceased as he neared a corner, his steps halting as his eyes narrowed. Exhaling softly, after a moment he silently resumed walking and turned the corner. A certain jounin leaned against the wall just in front of a giant stone block marking the end of the tunnel, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets. "Hello, Hawk-san," he greeted with a nod. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Hatake Kakashi," Itachi murmured, regarding him warily. "I did not expect to see you here."

"Well, I did say I wanted to talk to you, didn't I?" the silver-haired jounin replied lightly, his lone visible eye crinkling in a smile. Itachi narrowed his eyes but remained silent, watching the other man's body language closely for any signs of hostility.

He had hoped to avoid encountering the Copy-nin before his departure. Kakashi had clearly clocked his disguise as fake during their brief encounter before the invasion, and it had left him heavily on edge over the past three days. Itachi still had no idea if Kakashi had figured out _who_ he was, nor did he know why Kakashi decided against confronting him at the time, but all the same he'd hoped to finish his task without finding out.

In retrospect, he should have known better. Kakashi would never let someone suspicious slip away.

"You know, these tunnels have a very interesting history," Kakashi commented idly. "They were created by the Chikadou clan, years before the village's founding. The fact they existed at all was a nice coincidence for the founders, since it saved them quite a bit of work. The First Hokage naturally designated them for ANBU usage... but, you already know all that, hm?"

"Of course," Itachi replied smoothly. "However, it was the Second Hokage who designated the tunnels for ANBU usage, not the First."

"Ah, that's right!" Kakashi smacked his forehead, his eye creasing in one of his trademark eye-smiles. "Silly me, looks like I forgot." He chuckled softly, but both knew that to be a lie. Knowledge of the tunnels' histories was largely restricted to ANBU in part because some of them happened to extend beyond Konoha's boundaries, a fact more intelligent enemies may be able to pick up on if they heard their origins. Asking about them made for an easy way to root out imposters, or at least those who had never served in ANBU.

Did that mean Kakashi had not yet identified him? No, Itachi couldn't rule out that possibility just yet; Kakashi could be trying to fool him into a false sense of security, or alternatively, stalling for time while he awaited backup. Confronting a potentially fake ANBU alone in an isolated location, regardless of suspicions about their identity, would be unprecedentedly reckless of someone as experienced and paranoid as Kakashi.

Whatever the case, Itachi needed to find a way to end this encounter as soon as possible, and preferably without violence. If Kakashi passed out down here, the chances of someone finding him would be low since this tunnel—

He abruptly stiffened, his eyes widening in shock behind the mask. Seeing the sudden tension in his shoulders, Kakashi pushed away from the wall and turned on his heel to face him fully, his expression growing more serious. "I see you finally figured it out," he observed. "I expected you to notice sooner." Itachi just scowled, mentally cursing himself for being so careless.

 _No one knew about this tunnel outside of Team Ro._

While the first generation of ANBU had mapped _most_ of the Chikadou clan's tunnels, this particular segment had been missed because it had been physically separate from the others and covered in sensory-blocking seals. A few members of Team Ro had stumbled upon it through pure chance, after a mishap at a newly established training ground above one portion caused the ground to collapse.

When they reported it to the Third Hokage, he had opted to keep the knowledge to himself and ordered the exit sealed. Only the members of Team Ro who'd been present for its discovery knew of the tunnel, with a few being briefed on it later. At the time of his defection, the list had consisted only of Kakashi, Tenzo, Hinotama, Shisui and Itachi himself—and of those five, Shisui had died and Shiranui Hinotama had retired from duty after losing her right hand. Which meant...

"So you knew it was me all along," he concluded aloud, and Kakashi nodded.

"I did." Pulling a storage scroll from his pocket, the silver-haired jounin lazily tossed it to the ground between them. Itachi reflexively jumped back as it burst into smoke, expecting a slew of weapons to fly at him or bombs to ignite, but instead a pile of dark-colored clothing appeared. Striding towards the mound, Kakashi plucked one of the shirts from the top and Itachi glimpsed an all-too familiar flash of red and white adorning the back.

"Seeing as you wouldn't need your old clothes anymore, I took the liberty of collecting some of them. Storage scrolls can preserve scents quite well if you know what you're doing, and I'd pull them out every few months so it would stay fresh in my memory. I made a habit of that with most defectors, actually, but usually we caught them pretty fast."

He let the shirt slip from his fingers and fall back onto the mound of clothing, turning his head to meet Itachi's gaze while lifting his hitai-ate. The bright red iris of his implanted Sharingan glowed softly in the dim light of the tunnel, casting an eerie red sheen on his features. "You can take off the mask now, Itachi. I think it will be better if we chat face to face."

Itachi sighed quietly as he reached to remove his mask, grimacing briefly while he could still hide his expression behind it. Battling in such tight quarters would hardly end well for either of them; he needed to end this as swiftly and smoothly as possible, preferably without any destructive techniques. Unfortunately, that left him with one option.

"You should have let it go," he murmured, closing his eyes as he carefully pulled the mask away from his face. "Then we wouldn't need to go through this."

When his eyes opened again they had morphed into the distinct pattern of his Mangekyo, the black pinwheels spinning violently as his gaze met Kakashi's. Instantly the world shifted around them as the jounin fell into the pull of the Tsukuyomi, the tunnel vanishing and replaced by a space of Itachi's own design.

Black clouds surged across a blood red sky at rapid speeds, black water rippling beneath Itachi's feet as he stood before Kakashi, a dark katana in his hand. Metal shackles bound the jounin's wrists and ankles to a wooden cross in a mock crucifixion, leaving him unable to do anything but glare warily at the Uchiha. Itachi wasted no time on pleasantries, thrusting the blade into Kakashi's abdomen and eliciting a sharp gasp of pain.

"This is the Tsukuyomi," he intoned flatly. "Inside this genjutsu realm, I control time, space and mass. It is the ultimate genjutsu, and only one with the same eyes as me has any chance of breaking free." Pulling out the blade slowly, he then jabbed it into another spot on Kakashi's torso before the jounin could recover, earning another pained yelp. "For the next seventy-two hours, I will stab you with this sword."

"Wh-why...?" Kakashi managed to sputter, and cried out as Itachi twisted the blade before yanking it free.

"You are the one who chose to confront me. Had you left me alone, we could have avoided this entirely."

"I doubt you really want to do this," Kakashi muttered. "Can't we just talk peacefully?"

"I am not interested in conversation," Itachi responded blandly, stabbing him yet again. Kakashi's body jerked and this time he yelled, his face contorting in agony as his eyes pinched shut and his fingers curled inwards.

"Y-you claim that," he managed, his voice shaking. "B-but, wh-what if I t-told you, I know the truth."

Itachi's grip tightened on the hilt ever so slightly at the sudden claim, though he made no move to withdraw it. His gaze slid towards his victim's face with an apathetic coldness, his eyes narrowing slightly. "The truth?" he echoed monotonously. "What ' _truth_ ' do you speak of?"

"The massacre," Kakashi spat out, peeking open his eyes to meet Itachi's. "I know everything, Itachi. About the coup, your spy status... and... the orders Danzou gave you."


	45. Chapter 42: Dear Kakashi

**WARNING: This chapter includes graphic depictions of violence and disturbing imagery, as well as references to child death and mild psychological torture.**

* * *

Chapter 42

* * *

 _Dear Kakashi,_

 _If you're reading this, then the worst case scenario has happened, and I am dead along with a large majority of my clan._

 _Even now, that feels so strange to write. It definitely catches your attention, doesn't it? Like something out of a novel, or a manga. It's the kind of melodramatic line my teenage self would have loved, but I never thought the day would come where I would genuinely write it. If only this was all just some made-up story._

 _I wonder if you hate me for what I did. If you do, I don't fault you for it, I know I already do. I really hope you didn't burn this letter right away before opening it when you saw my handwriting. I probably would. But you're a little stronger than me, so I'm going to trust you're at least giving it a chance and reading it now. Sage, I hope you do._

 _I have so much to say, I honestly don't know where to begin. I guess I should start by apologizing for everything. I feel like maybe if I'd been just a little stronger, I could have done something, anything. I could have prepared Obito better for the horrors of war, I could have been there for Minato and Kushina that horrible night. Even Ryuusuke, and Tsubaki..._

 _Not a day passes where I wonder if I could have done something more to save them all. I made so many mistakes in my life, every time I look back I see more chances I missed or even skipped. They weigh upon me every day, and I'm sure you feel the same._

 _Maybe that's why I'm writing you. It' s funny. We haven't spoken in years, I haven't even_ _seen_ _you on the streets, and yet somehow I feel like you're the one I trust the most right now. Sad, isn't it? I wonder what that says about me, or maybe I should wonder what it says about Konoha._

 _This is so selfish of me. You've been through so much hell already, and I'm certain you'll go through even more after I die, and yet for some reason I'm still writing this to you. But then again, this isn't only for my sake._

 _This is your only warning._

 _What I am about to reveal is one of the greatest, darkest secrets Konoha will ever harbor._ _If you choose to continue reading this, there will be no going back._ _I cannot guarantee your faith in the village will remain unshaken. With that said though, I beg you to read this anyway. If not for me, then for yourself, and for the sake of whoever survives the massacre._

 _The Uchiha Clan Massacre was carried out on the official orders._

* * *

"I know everything, Itachi. About the coup, your spy status... and... the orders Danzou gave you."

The second the words left his mouth the sword vanished from Kakashi's stomach, the cross abruptly dropping downwards so he hovered at eye level with Itachi. Itachi's inverted white Sharingan appeared unmoved by the claim, but Kakashi thought he could see a faint gleam of surprise deep inside them. "That is a bold claim," the Uchiha warned. "It would be foolish to claim such things without any actual evidence."

Kakashi's eyes slid shut at his words, his body sagging tiredly. His body ached around the phantom stab wounds, the pain ever-present and _there_ despite knowing it was all just a genjutsu. He exhaled softly, keeping his voice calm and steady.

"Reach into my pocket, left side above the heart. You'll find the proof there." He could feel Itachi do exactly as instructed, fearlessly snapping open the pouch on his flak jacket and reaching inside to pull out several folded pieces of paper. Silence fell as Itachi unfolded them and began reading, and as Kakashi waited for him to finish he could see the words appear in his mind's eye, so familiar he could recite them in his dreams.

 _'I know it sounds impossible and crazy, but please, hear me out and save any judgment until the end. The Third may be a good man who desires peace, but he turns a blind eye when it comes to his friends. You've met Shimura Danzou, you know how dark and twisted he can be. I don't think even the Third realizes just how low Danzou will stoop to accomplish his goals. And for the past seven years, he has come to view the Uchiha as a threat._

 _'You're smart, Kakashi. Surely you've noticed the tension between the Uchiha and the village. Ever since the Kyuubi's attack, the villagers have been treating our clan with heavy suspicion, as if we had some responsibility for it. Our shinobi were even removed from active mission rosters, and kept in the village for longer periods of time. My clan is prideful, and the insults and suspicion became too much to bear quietly any longer._

 _'So, they started plotting a coup._

 _'A few of us disagreed with it, myself included, but the tension was high enough that we could not be open about our thoughts without risking suspicion as "traitors" to the clan. Among those dissenters was Itachi. While he will likely be known as a murderer by the time you read this, you knew Itachi when he served on your team. He might be a deadly efficient prodigy, but he's a pacifist at heart and hates unnecessary violence. When he became ANBU, Itachi reported the plot to the Hokage and became a double agent alongside Shisui-chan._

 _'The three of us started working together behind the scenes to try to stop the coup, but our attempts at a peaceful resolution seemed to be stalled at every turn. While the Third seemed open to negotiation, the Council—especially Danzou—would not budge, nor would our clansmen. It reached the point that Shisui proposed a last resort, but before he could even attempt it Danzou intervened. I won't go into full details, as if I say too much it will place you in danger, but I will say this:_

 _'Itachi didn't kill Shisui. The suicide note Shisui left was real._

 _'When we erected his gravestone, I knew there would be no chance to stop the coup peacefully anymore. The fact that Danzou sabotaged our last gamble made it clear he had no desire for a peaceful resolution. He does not care for our individual levels of guilt; he views us as a blight which must be completely eradicated. I came to conclude he would give Itachi a choice: either the Uchiha would be slaughtered by Root, or Itachi could carry out the massacre himself._

 _'Itachi will choose the second one, I know it. Why? Because at least then, he can spare Sasuke. We Uchiha value our loved ones to near catastrophic levels, and history has shown the lengths we will go to protect those we cherish. Itachi is loyal to Konoha, but his love for Sasuke overshadows that loyalty, so he will choose the path that will save him. For all his genius, Itachi is still a child and vulnerable to others' manipulations, and he'll allow that love to cloud his common sense._

 _'I don't know if you'll believe all of this right away, but I'm sure that with time you will come to realize this is all true. As you like to say, "look underneath the underneath." Uchiha Itachi may have our blood on his hands, but ultimately he is as much a victim as everyone else. I can't imagine how much it will hurt him to carry out this order, to bear the weight of our blood every day for the rest of his life while being viewed as a traitor._

 _'As far as he knows, he is totally alone, and I suspect he intends to die without the truth being known. That child doesn't deserve such a horrible, cruel fate._

 _'And that is why I write you now.'_

Even as Kakashi mentally recited the last word he heard a small intake of breath in front of him, prompting him to peek open Obito's eye. Shock colored Itachi's features as he gripped the illusory note with shaking hands, his earlier cold mask shaken and broken.

"This... This is..." He trailed off, raising his head to peer at Kakashi with a look of growing horror before suddenly— _rage_. Pure, unadulterated fury, his eyes flashing with venom as he hissed, " _Lies!_ "

Dozens of katanas suddenly penetrated Kakashi from varying angles as Itachi's roar echoed around them, causing him to scream in agony. "Do you really believe this trash?" Itachi demanded, his mouth curving into a smug smirk as he stood behind row upon row of his stone-faced doppelgangers. "If so, you are an even larger fool than I believed, Hatake."

Blood spewed from Kakashi's mouth as Itachi's copies twisted their blades, the liquid catching on the fabric of his mask and smothering his breath. Hacking violently, he grit his teeth and glared at his tormenter, his mismatched eyes filled with unmoving determination. "S-stop pretending it's f-fake," he choked out. "Th-this isn't the real you, Itachi. Th-this is j-just hurting you— _urk!_ "

He shouted as the clones yanked out all of their swords as one, leaving the real Itachi to thrust his own blade deep into Kakashi's chest. He could feel the metal slide through the gap in his ribs and scrape the edges of his lungs, breaking through his back to stab into the wood behind him. "Do not try to deceive yourself," Itachi growled, leaning close enough to Kakashi's face to spit on him. "Uchiha Ryoko may have painted a pretty picture, but she's hardly a reliable source. What kind of sane person kills her own daughter?"

Even as he spoke the world shifted around them, and suddenly Kakashi found himself standing in the center of a faintly familiar bedroom. Uchiha Ryoko's silhouette stood several feet away, a long katana dripping white blood onto the floorboards. His heart lurched as he spied a tiny hand sprawled around the other side of her leg, the sudden chill in his blood far outweighing the residual pain still haunting his body.

"Stop it," he whispered, feeling a growing sense of numbness as he watched Ryoko twirl the sword's handle. He flinched as flecks of blood splattered onto the tiny hand, and tried to turn his head away, to look away from the nightmarish scene, but to his horror found himself frozen, unable to even close his eyes.

"Take a good look," Itachi breathed into Kakashi's ear as Ryoko slowly turned her head towards them. "Look at the woman who killed Akari, one of your so-called 'precious people.'"

If Kakashi could move, he would probably vomit. As it stood, he could only watch in growing horror as she turned to face him in full, his eyes widening in horror at what he saw.

Drops of white speckled Ryoko's black face like stars against the night sky, her left eye glowing with a dazzling white Sharingan, but the other eye... Deep gouges marred the skin around her right eye socket, pale gore crusting the torn lid shut even as blood oozed from it. Yet as horrifying as her injuries looked, what made it truly awful was simply her expression. No indication of pain showed in her features, and her mouth curved softly into a small smile.

"Itachi-chan," the specter greeted, her smile and voice eerily pleasant as her head tilted to the side, strands of hair falling across her face. "You're early. I already took care of Akari-chan, so could you wait until Masaru-chan arrives so I can take care of him too?"

Kakashi swallowed thickly, his teeth gritting beneath his mask as an involuntary shudder ran down his spine. _Wrong. This felt so, so wrong._ He opened his mouth to speak, but for a moment he couldn't find his voice, the growing nausea hampering his ability to speak. "That's not true," he choked out. "This didn't—she didn't _say_ that. She—she never planned to kill Masaru."

"And where, exactly, would you get that impression?" Itachi drawled, sounding almost amused by the notion. A shudder ran down Kakashi's spine at the hint of malicious glee dripping from his voice, able to picture the Uchiha's venomous smirk and the smug twinkle in his eyes. His own eyes squeezed shut, willing the nauseating sense of revulsion to fade as he took a series of steadying breaths.

 _In. Out._

 _In. Out._

 _This is not the real Itachi. This is an act._

The tension faded from Kakashi's shoulders ever so slightly, and his fingers curled at his sides. "Because," he muttered lowly, "if she wanted to kill him, she wouldn't have given him that seal."

He could almost feel Itachi stiffen behind him, no doubt taken aback by his response. "Seal?" Itachi echoed, and for the first time since allowing himself to get caught in this nightmare his voice held no malice, airing surprise and, oddly enough, even a bit of apprehension. The small crack in his cold veneer gave Kakashi a small burst of strength, his body further relaxing as he gave a small, cautious nod.

"On the back of his neck. It's a seal with the kanji for ' _hope_ ' at the center. We only found out during the invasion. By any chance, did you see the giant fire dragon that shot into the sky?" When Itachi didn't respond, he continued, "Could you imagine a thirteen year old boy managing to learn something that flashy on his own, without _anyone_ knowing? Not even you could have managed that, Itachi."

Itachi didn't respond, but Kakashi swore he heard a soft intake of breath. The silver-haired jounin allowed his eyes to open and _glared_ at the macabre illusion of the once-great kunoichi, his teeth grinding. "She incorporated a B-rank ninjutsu into a seal she placed directly onto his neck," he spat. "Why would she do that if she planned to kill him?"

"Stop it," he heard Itachi whisper behind him, voice so soft it almost didn't register, but Kakashi pushed onwards.

"She _wouldn't_. I don't know why she planned for Masaru to live over Akari, but she made sure he would be safe at least once after she died. She even went as far as to make a charm with a tracking seal for every student in her children's graduating class. I'd explain what I mean by that, but I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about."

"Stop talking..."

"After all, she probably made one for you, too, right?" Kakashi guessed. "In fact, I bet you got one of the originals. Maybe she gave you—"

" _Don't,_ " Itachi hissed.

"—An omamori?"

The second the words left his mouth the morbid image of Ryoko froze, her smile becoming static. Cracks rippled across her form and her figure shattered with a burst of white light, glass-like shards falling to the ground. As they clinked against the floor more cracks radiated from the impact points and the room fell apart, replaced by an endless black void.

Suddenly Kakashi felt his body jerk into the air and his arms spread outwards as icy metal clamped around his wrists and ankles, his back pressed against wood once more. His eyes widened in shock and he barely had time to open his mouth before Itachi stabbed him again, screaming as the katana plunged into his chest.

"Shut up!" Itachi hissed, twisting the blade before yanking it out to stab him again. Desperation flickered in the Uchiha's eyes, his typical stoic mask shattered and replaced by something more fragile and scared as his lips curled back in a snarl. "Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!"

Kakashi didn't bother trying to smother his screams of pain as Itachi continued to stab him, his body violently spasming with each blow. His nerves felt like they were on fire, his sense of pain heightened to make each blow even more agonizing than the last. A thick glob of blood caught in his throat as he felt the cold metal pierce a lung, his nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood as his body began twitching violently.

Yet even so he kept his eyes open to gaze at Itachi steadily, struggling to keep his voice level as he forced out, "St-stand... down... Weasel. You d-don't... need to... p-pretend anymore."

The repeated stabbing abruptly halted and Itachi's hands stilled, his cold expression morphing to one of shock and horror. Whatever happened next, Kakashi didn't see, because at that point he finally, _mercifully_ passed out.

* * *

 _Please, Kakashi, if you ever meet Itachi,_ _help him_ _. Don't let him go through this hell alone. He deserves so much better than this, and while you may not be able to hekp him directly, I believe that just_ _knowing_ _that someone knows he's not truly an enemy will be able to help him so much. His eyes have evolved into the Mangekyo, granting him access to a powerful genjutsu called Tsukuyomi where he has total control over the victim's senses, to the point of even distorting time. If you can bait him into using it on you, you will be able to speak to him freely without worry of anyone overhearing._

 _Kakashi, I am so sorry to burden you with this. You've already been through so much, and now I've given you an even heavier weight to bear, but even so, I still think of you as the only one I can trust with this. I really am an awful person, aren't I? If I wasn't, I'd still be fighting for peace to my dying breath. But after working for years for that goal, I am too tired to fight what I know to be a losing battle any longer._

 _Maybe it's selfish, but I just don't have the energy to care anymore. As far as I am concerned, my clan has dug its own grave. Even if this outcome could somehow be averted, I'm too tired to deal with picking up the pieces of our shattered relationship with Konoha afterward. I've suffered more than a lifetime's worth of heartache and loss, I feel like I never got a break, not once. At this point I am willing to accept death just so I can finally_ _rest_ _for once since being born into this goddamn world of suffering and heartache._

 _I am so sorry, Kakashi. I really am lower than scum._

 _With this, I suppose my letter is finally finished. I've told you the darkest secret Konoha will harbor, and selfishly entrusted my will to you. I wish I could say I could go to my death without any regrets, but obviously that will be a lie. But do you know what one of my biggest regrets is?_

 _I never got to talk to you again._

 _We both went through so much similar losses: our teams, our families... Our circumstances might not be identical, but I know the weight of killing someone you love with your own hands. I know the nightmares that follow, I know the crushing guilt that weighs on you at all times._

 _You could have come to me, you know. When Obito died, you could have visited. I would have looked at it. I would have helped you. I spent a lot of time researching transplants, I had a pretty good idea on how to help you._

 _I was waiting for you to come to me, Kakashi. The clan would not let me go to you and offer help unless you asked first, but I honestly didn't care what this clan thought. I wanted_ _you_ _to be the one to take the first step, to gather the courage to push past your insecurities and seek help on your own. I had hoped that your friendship with Akari would help give you that push, but sadly, it never did._

 _I am sorry, Kakashi. I know I will cause you more pain and sadness, but I have made my mind. The Uchiha clan has been on a steady downward spiral for years, and I know there is nothing left I can do to save it. I have watched my kinsmen seal our future in blood and hatred, and I am too tired to try to fight it any longer. As a mother I cannot allow my children to suffer for their arrogance, and the only way I can do that now is to take their suffering into my own hands._

 _I am so, so sorry, Kakashi. I do not deserve any forgiveness. I can only apologize for having to take another precious person from you._

 _I hope you may someday be able to find peace you so desperately deserve._

 _Farewell forever,_

 _Uchiha Ryoko_

* * *

When Kakashi woke up, he found himself staring at a bloody red sky. His mind felt hazy and unclear, his thoughts blurred and largely not present. Gazing listlessly at the black clouds drifting across his vision, he gradually grew aware of an absence of pain, and he slowly blinked and rolled his head to the side.

Itachi sat hunched nearby, his cloud-printed cloak seeming to hang from his slender frame. Everything about his posture screamed defeat, his silhouette looking tiny and so very vulnerable. He didn't turn even though he surely knew Kakashi had awoken, remaining hunched with his face buried in his arms as the jounin slowly sat up.

"Are we done with the stabbing?" the Copy-nin questioned blandly, but he knew there wouldn't be any more of that. The person before him wasn't Uchiha Itachi, infamous missing-nin and clan killer, nor even Uchiha Itachi, the former ANBU captain.

No, the person in front of him was a boy who had felt the weight of the world on his shoulders at far too young an age, and whose world had finally shattered.

"How long?" Itachi asked quietly. Kakashi didn't need him to elaborate on what he meant.

"About three months after the massacre," he answered tiredly. "One of her summons showed up at my apartment to deliver the letter. It took me a while to believe it, but the more I thought about it, the more sense it made, especially once Danzou entered the equation. We worked together for two years," he added, his voice taking on a more gentle note. "I had difficulty believing that eleven-year-old boy who avoided needless casualties on missions could suddenly turn into a cold-blooded mass murderer overnight. The letter just cemented those doubts even further."

 _I think part of me_ wanted _to believe it,_ he didn't say, but he knew Itachi could sense it all the same.

"Ryoko-san..." The younger male lifted his head and tipped it back to stare at the sky, his white eyes dull and lifeless. "Shisui-nii and I had a theory she activated her Mangekyo and it gave her some sort of precognitive ability. We never asked her about it, but... she definitely knew about the massacre before it happened."

Kakashi could sense something more behind his words, a grim sort of certainty which hinted at a larger story, but when Itachi didn't elaborate he decided not to press.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice," he said quietly. "You were my subordinate for two years, I should have noticed the stress you were suffering. At the very least, I should have figured Danzou might approach you, if only because of your age and skill."

And really, he should have. While Kakashi may not have been able to predict the full outcome, he'd experienced firsthand how Danzou approached young geniuses and tried to mold them to fit his purposes. Itachi had been even younger than Kakashi had been, and he had the Sharingan on top of that; all of that combined to make him an irresistible target for the old war hawk, and Kakashi should have recognized that.

Itachi shook his head, no doubt sensing his thoughts. "The Uchiha clan's affairs had nothing to do with you. This burden is mine, and mine alone. The fact Danzou ordered it does not lessen my guilt."

"You may have killed them," Kakashi said, "but you're just as much of a victim as everyone else."

"I'm _not_!" Itachi snapped, whirling his head to face the Copy-nin with a ferocious snarl full of fathomless pain and self-loathing. "I _chose_ to go through with it, I willingly stained my hands with the blood of _my family_ —"

"You were only _thirteen_ , Itachi," Kakashi interrupted sharply, leveling his former subordinate with a heated glare that made him flinch. "A _child_. For all the talent and intellect you might have possessed, that doesn't change the fact you were still young and inexperienced. Most people that age would barely even be genin. You never should have been put into that position in the first place."

Itachi's face crumpled at his words, his eyes flickering with guilt and remorse and grief. "...I... I just..." The corners of his eyes glittered and he raised his hands to rub them, his shoulders starting to shake violently as his head bowed. "Sasuke—if I didn't, he would have died, and I—he was so _young_ , so _pure_ and _innocent_ , he had no guilt, he didn't deserve to—to—"

A choked sob escaped him as he hunched forward and folded onto himself, tears slipping through his fingers to drip onto the liquid-like darkness coating the inky void and send tiny ripples with each drop. Kakashi's face softened and he rolled to his feet to crawl over, hesitating briefly before placing his hand against Itachi's back. Comforting people never came naturally to him—he tried to avoid his own emotions whenever possible, let alone deal with someone else's—but right now he could tell Itachi needed him.

He felt the Uchiha stiffen under his palm, but the muscles in his back soon loosened and he leaned forward even further, allowing himself to cry freely. Five years of pent-up grief and guilt burst forth in a never-ending stream of tears and sobs, the notorious Uchiha Clan Killer crumpling into the broken teenager he really was. Hours seemed to pass like that, Kakashi gently rubbing his back the entire time. Eventually, though, the tears tapered off, the shaking slowing down until he remained mostly still.

"I never saw her body." The sudden statement caught Kakashi by surprise, his hand retracting as he recoiled in realization.

"You mean—?"

"Akari," Itachi confirmed, lowering his hands and raising his head to offer him a weary nod. "Ryoko killed her before I arrived and covered her remains with a blanket, but I could recognize the contours of her form and... her head, thanks to the Sharingan." Pausing, he closed his eyes and added, almost hesitantly, "The... the most I saw was her hand."

Kakashi remembered the false illusion Itachi had shown him, the glimpse of the too-tiny hand behind Ryoko's leg, and— _oh_.

"...I'm sorry I showed you," Itachi whispered, his head hanging in shame. "I knew when I read that letter you wouldn't believe it, but... I showed you anyway. I wanted to make you believe it was wrong." He shook his head slowly, not looking at him. "I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's—" He started to say " _it's fine_ " but stopped short, because really, it wasn't. That tiny hand would likely haunt his nightmares, and he didn't want to offer Itachi empty platitudes and lies. Inhaling softly, he instead said, "I've seen worse. I never saw her body either. When we went to investigate the scene, the Hokage kept me away from it, and the final report about her death didn't include any pictures."

The morose air which haunted Itachi lifted slightly as he shot Kakashi a faintly curious look. "Isn't it standard procedure to include photos with autopsy reports?"

"She didn't have one. Too many bodies to process, from what I'm told. The morticians catalogued the likely causes of death based on visible wounds and then sent them for cremation. They only did formal autopsies on the ones without an obvious cause, and hers was... pretty clear." A disturbed look flickered across Itachi's features, giving Kakashi pause. "Something you want to share?"

"...Nothing," the Uchiha murmured, turning away with a small frown. "Just a thought." Kakashi frowned, but before he could press for more information Itachi commented, "So Ryoko made an omamori for everyone in Sasuke's class?" The attempt to change the subject was abrupt and obvious, far more blatant than one would usually expect of a high-caliber ninja, but Kakashi decided to let it slide. Talking about Akari's death still felt far too morbid and raw for his tastes anyway.

"We're assuming that. Her ninneko showed up right before the exams to deliver gifts to all the rookies from their class. But for the record, she seems to have used different objects for each person though," he added, "Only Sasuke had the omamori—although, I suspect that you...?"

He trailed off, looking at Itachi expectantly. The younger male's lips quirked into a small, weary smile. "I tried to burn it once, when I first got it. Apparently the seals are even lava-proof. She made one for all of us."

"Us?" Kakashi echoed softly.

"Me, Sasuke, Shisui, and Akari," Itachi responded, his eyes closing. "Innocent, Protection, Life, and Light." Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her choices; some sort of poetic irony existed there.

"Those are almost eerily fitting," he remarked, and Itachi nodded.

"It seemed so generic at the time. I only started to really think on it after Shisui—" He stopped short, his face falling and looking even more somber. Kakashi regarded him sympathetically, shifting to hover closer in case Itachi needed the comfort, but while the boy looked uncomfortable he couldn't quite quell his curiosity.

"In her letter she said that Danzou killed him, but she didn't include any details so I was never too certain how true that was."

Itachi's shoulders slumped as he sighed, his eyes sliding shut. "She was correct. Danzou ambushed him and stole one of his eyes." Kakashi jolted at the statement, his back straightening as he stared at Itachi wide-eyed. Face stony and blank, the Uchiha continued blandly, "Shisui got away, but he'd been poisoned by a member of Root who came from the Aburame clan. When we met by Naka River, he gave me his other eye and killed himself by stepping off the ledge. He said he thought the grief from seeing him die like that would trigger my Mangekyo to activate."

His lips pulled into a humorless smile, his eyes dark and hollow. "It worked."

His mechanical tone sent chills down Kakashi's spine. Well. This was even worse than he'd expected, and he'd already had pretty low expectations. "Why does the Sharingan have to be so closely tied to trauma?" he complained under his breath. "The more I hear about it, the less I like it..."

"Ryoko-san called the Sharingan a physical manifestation of post-traumatic stress disorder. She complained about the Uchiha's glorification of it quite often." Amusement seeped into Itachi's tone as he spoke, the first remotely positive emotion he'd shown since this whole ordeal began.

"She did, didn't she," Kakashi agreed, shaking his head. "She complained about it when my old team had dinner at her house. She even scared Masaru enough that—"

He stopped himself short as he realized what he was about to say, and a glance at Itachi revealed him to be totally rigid. "...How long did he hide it?" he asked quietly, not looking at him, and Kakashi's shoulders slumped in dismay.

"...Until about two months ago," he admitted reluctantly, and he could see Itachi's mouth tighten in a grimace.

"Five years," he whispered, and Kakashi could _hear_ the loathing and hatred Itachi held for himself. Taking a shuddery breath, he raised his head to look at Kakashi with an almost fearful look, hesitating to speak. "And... Sasuke?"

"He activated it during our first C-rank mission. That's partly what led to the revelation about Masaru having it."

"His first...?" Itachi trailed off, his brow furrowing in confusion before his eyes widened with horror. A chill ran down Kakashi's spine at the sight, quickly realizing what that look meant.

"He activated it back then too, didn't he?" he asked reluctantly, and Itachi's head fell in shame, burying his face in his arms.

"Right when I left, he—...He must have repressed the memory. Otherwise, he would have been training in it earlier..."

 _In order to kill me,_ he didn't say, but Kakashi could hear it all the same.

"Damn," he breathed, face twisting in a scowl. Every one of the remaining Uchiha seemed to be broken: Sasuke in his quest for vengeance; Masaru whose eyes burned red over the loss of his sister; and now Itachi, who had been forced to bear the weight of that burden since a far too young age. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder—if Obito had survived, would he be broken too? Or Akari?

...Kakashi decided not to think about it too hard.

"The mission," Itachi said, raising his head. "What happened?" Kakashi frowned, scratching the back of his neck.

"We had to escort a bridge builder to Wave, and things got a little... hectic." Kakashi really did not like to think too hard on what happened there, and how close he came to losing his students. However, he knew he couldn't avoid the subject, because thinking of Wave brought to mind one prominent event. Shifting to sit more upright, he turned to meet Itachi's gaze, making the other stiffen slightly. "Itachi, I have a question. Are you sure that you, Sasuke and Masaru are the only Uchiha left?"

The question seemed to catch Itachi by surprise, and he flinched ever so slightly before leveling a sharp, startled look his way. "What happened?" he demanded, and Kakashi sighed, wondering how best to explain the mess.

"By any chance, is it possible for me to project a few memories here? I'd really like to get a second opinion."

* * *

Construction workers paraded down the street as Konan leaned against the railing of her hotel room's balcony, watching them swing with dull eyes. Her left wrist clung to her chest in a sling, the bandages winding it and her abdomen serving as the only indicators of her recent battle. Considering her opponent had been the First Hokage, she considered her injuries as little more than scratches compared to what she could have endured.

An all-too familiar chakra fringed on her senses, suddenly appearing in her bedroom, and she exhaled softly as she leaned back slightly. "How is he?"

"Your friend is fine," came the deep baritones of Uchiha Madara. "He's more concerned for you." Konan's lips quirked into a faint smile, her expression softening as she gazed over the busy street. Nagato had always been prone to worrying; even after Yahiko died, the redhead still tended to be far more concerned than the cold façade he usually exhibited.

"Please tell him I'm fine. Have you heard from Shuu-san?"

"He sent a crow to confirm he completed his mission this morning, and should be leaving now."

"Good," she murmured quietly. She had been surprised to hear Itachi had extended his stay, and had been slightly worried about his ability to maintain his cover since the Third Hokage would have undoubtedly connected the black flames of the Amaterasu to him. While the clan killer tended to be cold and detached, she found him to be better company than some of their other colleagues, and she hoped he would be able to escape without any issues.

"My offer still stands for you as well," Madara reminded her.

"Thank you, but I still intend to leave with Arata." Her "guard" for the mission had not fared as well as she had. While his opponents had not been kage-level, Arata had still been heavily outnumbered by incredibly skilled jounin from Suna and Oto, and had sustained serious enough injuries to merit hospitalization. Nonetheless, Konan found his performance more than satisfactory given the circumstances, and she wanted to personally ensure his safe return. After all, Ame needed all the skilled jounin it could get.

Still, she could feel the faint sense of condescension from the elder Uchiha within the shadows of the hotel room. "I hardly see why you feel the need to escort him home." Konan didn't bother to respond to that remark. The masked man always had a sense of smugness about him, showing no interest in those whose abilities didn't meet his ever-high standards.

"I met one of your relatives when I went to the hospital today," she said instead.

"Oh?" Madara made a faint sound of interest. "Which one?"

"Masaru-kun. We only spoke briefly, but he seems different from the rest of your clan." Even now she could recall the way the young boy awkwardly fumbled over his words, his ever-polite smile brought on by distress more than anything else. Konan had found his anxious nature somewhat surprising; though she had only met a few Uchiha, she knew that Itachi and Madara's stoic and detached demeanors tended to be the norm.

Behind her Madara gave a noncommittal hum. "That is hardly surprising. The boy's heritage is tainted on both sides."

"Tainted?" she echoed curiously.

"That's unimportant," Madara demurred. "In any event, he's hardly any ground for concern or interest."

"If you say so." Konan allowed the subject to drop, watching as a cat slunk out of an alleyway to trail behind a construction worker. Golden eyes flicked her way and she waved a few fingers in a half-hearted greeting, her mind swirling.

She didn't mention the brief pause she noticed on Madara's part when she first said Masaru's name.

She also didn't mention the envelope she saw Masaru slip to Shibuki, and the whispers she'd heard of "Fu" and "pen pals."

Uchiha Masaru would play a role in the Akatsuki's plans, whether Madara wanted that or not.

* * *

 **A/N: And with this, the Invasion Immediate Aftermath is officially wrapped up!**

Sorry for the wait! I had three finals projects due on Monday/Tuesday and a fourth on Wednesday, so I had no time/energy to work on the story until today.

Today's chapter is possibly the most important chapter to date outside the actual massacre, and one I've been wanting to write for ages now. I've spent a LOT of time on this chapter. If Itachi seems out-of-character, just keep in mind he's been spent the past five years living a lie and pretending to be a cold-blooded killer. This is a world-shattering revelation for him, so he won't admit to it easily. It's also my opinion he genuinely despises himself for what he's done, and he doesn't want anyone to feel pity for him as a victim since he sees himself as a monster, hence his desperate attempts to "prove" Kakashi wrong.

There is so much I want to say about this chapter, especially Ryoko's letter. This is the most in-depth look at Ryoko's mind yet, and I hope it helps explain some of her 's gone through a couple rewrites, the most recent iteration was written AFTER my old laptop's hard drive crashed. But one part that didn't change is how it ended. I first referenced the letter way back in Chapter 18 ("Change the Future"), and with the rest of the letter those last few paragraphs gain some MUCH clearer and deeper meaning. The next chapter also included Kakashi's conversation with Tenzo about why Itachi spared Masaru, ending with the notable line, "I'm saying the Uchiha clan massacre is a fucking shitshow, and there's definitely more to it than meets the eye." That was specifically in reference to her letter.

The chapter as a whole reveals a lot of secrets, and adds several mysteries, too. There's a lot of little comments in here that foreshadow MUCH larger secrets, some of which I don't think _anyone_ will predict.

On a brighter note, the end of the chapter marks the beginning of Masaru's pen pal relations with Fu. And also that Konan knows about it too. Yeah, this is going to lead to some very interesting stuff in the future.

With that said, I have officially no chapters after this one, so I'm going on hiatus to give myself time to write. **Echoes of Light will return in full in January.** As I said last time, everything from here on out will totally deviate from canon, so I need time to plan and write. Beyond that, today my dad dropped off my old laptop at a special service to see if they can recover any of the data from the hard drive. I want to hear what they have to say before I start.

Although, on a related note, I'm thinking of rewriting the ending to the Wave arc. A recent review on FF got me thinking, and I the confrontation with Zabuza came out as MUCH more cracky than I intended. It doesn't fit the overall atmosphere of the story. I won't change WHAT happens specifically—Gato will still die at Kakashi's hands, Team Seven still uses a lot of pranks set up on the bridge, and Zabuza and Haku will still live—but I want to rewrite it to be a bit more serious.

And a final note: I'm thinking of writing another story, tentatively called "Silver Vines". It would be about Kakashi having a civilian younger sister. Except she supposedly died as an infant, only to be found shortly after the Kyuubi's attack. ...Also, she would have mokuton. Yeah. Should give you an idea of where she was while she was "dead". And of course, Kakashi's not exactly in the right mindstate to support HIMSELF, let alone deal with raising a likely traumatized six-year-old little girl.

Would anyone be interested in reading that?

Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. See you guys in the new year, or maybe even a bit earlier. ;D

(Also, to Dark Souls:

Mi español no es buena. Utilicé el traductor de google, lo siento por unos errores. Fuu podría morir, pero me gusta Fuu mucho. Es muy divertido escribir Fuu, para que ella podría vivir.)


	46. Chapter 43: Two Weeks Later

Chapter 43

* * *

 _"No matter what happens, no matter how much changes, in the end life will always go back to normal. 'Normal' just might have a new definition."  
_

* * *

 _"Your daughter is a disgrace to our family name."_

 _Hinata's breath caught in her throat as she stood outside the door to her father's study, her body tense and rigid. Beyond the painfully thin rice paper walls she could hear Elder Fumito speaking all too clearly, his voice still smooth and deep despite his advanced age. "Not only did she flee before her match, but she did so in front of dignitaries from nearly every country."_

 _"If she hadn't fled, she would have been caught up in brunt of the invasion," she heard her father rebut, sounding ever calm and stoic._

 _"The Hyuuga clan is fortunate that the invasion occurred in time to mask her cowardice from the public!" interjected the disapproving voice of Elder Nobuko, her words twisting in Hinata's chest like a knife. "It does not matter if her status as heiress has been revoked. She is still a member of the Main House, and her actions reflect upon all of us. If it were to become public knowledge that she was intimidated by a genin from the_ Branch house _—"_

 _"Neji may be a member of the Branch House, but he's also one of the most talented geniuses to come from our clan in several_ generations _," Hiashi interrupted. He did not raise his voice, but his words held a hard and impatient edge. "I doubt even_ I _would have been able to match his skill at that age. Expecting Hinata to do so is wholly unfair and unreasonable."_

 _"The difference in their skills doesn't matter," Fumito declared coldly. "What matters is that she fled after he fought. That alone would have brought unspeakable shame and doubt to the Main House's reputation."_

 _"We have allowed her slacking to go unpunished long enough," Elder Kyotoki added darkly, and Hinata felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, her heart seeming to stop. "It is time for us to take action and do what we should have long ago."_

No.

 _Dread sunk in Hinata's stomach like a stone and she took a step back, her eyes wide as her pulse quickened. No, he can't mean, he can't—_

 _Suddenly the doors flung open and a flock of men in white robes surged out, their faces hidden behind long paper tags bearing the kanji for '_ sight' _. A strangled scream caught in Hinata's throat as she turned to flee, racing for the door, but as she ran the hallway seemed to stretch to infinite lengths, the door seeming further away with each step. Hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her back, the long, fingers with nails far too sharp painfully digging into her arms and sides and face._

 _"No, please, stop! Don't!_ Don't! _" Panic and desperation surged as she screamed, thrashing desperately against their hold. Her struggles proved futile though, and the world seemed to fly past her as they dragged her into the room, thrusting her to the ground and planting her in a forced bow. Gnarled fingers grabbed her short hair and harshly jerked her head upwards, forcing her to look at the elders. They towered above her, impossibly tall and imposing and their faces covered in shadows, their glowing white eyes full of nothing but icy disdain._

 _"We have allowed your insolence to go unchecked long enough," Elder Fumito declared above her, his voice echoing painfully loud in her ears. "From this day forth, you will be expelled from the Main House to live as a member of the Branch House, and branded as such!"_

"NO!"

Hinata's eyes popped opened with a gasp, her body convulsing sharply before going still. Ragged breaths escaped her as she laid atop the futon, staring at the ceiling tiles with wide, horrified eyes. Early morning light filtered through the window to tint the air a pale, pale blue, and slowly she made herself sit up. The tangled blankets slipped down to pool in her lap, and her hand ghosted over her forehead, as if expecting to feel ink and muted chakra. Swallowing thickly, she forced her head to turn to the mirror mounted on the nearby wall, her fingers twisting in her bangs and lifting them up to expose her forehead.

Blank, paper-white skin greeted her, untarnished by even a pimple.

Exhaling shakily, she let her bangs fall back into place and leaned forward, pulling her knees towards her chest as she tried to regulate her heartbeat. So fast, so hard, it almost hurt, but ever so slowly it stopped pounding and slowed down.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

Still a bit shaky, Hinata got to her feet and staggered towards the wardrobe, stripping out of her nightgown and reaching for the clothes already waiting for her. Her favorite sweatshirt, thick and baggy, with a mesh undershirt and a pair of black pants just slightly too big for her. Tape took care of that, the hems soon bound tightly to her shins and the bandages extending to her sandals.

Quiet footsteps sounded outside the door just as she finished folding her nightgown, slightly muffled but loud enough for her to hear. A soft knock sounded, and she opened her mouth but no sound came out right away. Hinata frowned, and swallowed away the overwhelming dryness before managing to croak, "C-come in."

A beat, and then the door slid open, a man in a dark yukata and a black mask covering his upper face peering inside. "Hinata-kun, breakfast is ready," he informed her. "Shino is already waiting for you."

"Th-thank you, Torune-nii," she responded, offering a feeble smile. "I'll—I'll be out shortly." The older teen nodded once and she turned back to the wardrobe, placing the now-folded nightgown in the drawers and grabbing her hitai-ate. Only when she heard the door close and his footsteps recede did she pause, smiling bitterly to herself as her fingers twirled around the braided bracelet that clung to her wrist.

It had been two weeks since she'd last gone home.

* * *

After the initial chaos from the invasion died down, a strange sense of monotony gradually settled over the village.

Life slowly resumed as the more immediate damages from the fighting were cleaned up, but returning to a sense of real normalcy would take time. A good quarter of their forces died in the invasion, meaning the remaining shinobi had to pick up the slack more than ever. The ninja academy remained closed while the instructors went to work in the field, and most of the jounin sensei had also been put back on active mission rosters, leaving a majority of Konoha's younger genin on their own.

Naturally, that included Masaru.

Masaru sighed as he strolled down the street, hands shoved in his pockets as he mentally reviewed his list of potential activities for the day. D-rank missions abounded right now and any genin could take them, no jounin supervision required, but he'd been doing that pretty often lately and didn't really want to clean up _more_ debris. Training would probably be the most productive option, but he'd rather not do it alone.

So that left... socializing, maybe? He hummed as he considered his options. Team Seven, his most obvious choice, wouldn't work. Sasuke had been in one of those "I need to be alone" moods that morning and left right after breakfast. Sakura had spent the past two weeks mostly at the hospital, both as a volunteer and to spend time with her father who apparently terrified Sasuke and Naruto? They got kind of twitchy whenever he was mentioned. And Naruto—

Well. Naruto had more important concerns right now. "Not like I'd know where to find him anyway," he muttered to himself sulkily.

Next on the list was Tenten, who'd become his go-to sparring partner and a loose friend, but she was currently busy. Some of the residential areas had been demolished by the fighting, including the one with the orphanage she'd grown up in, and she'd volunteered to help watch the kids in the temporary quarters established until more permanent structures could be built. Kiba, his next choice, had been out training with his own team when Masaru tried to visit the Inuzuka compound. Which struck out Hinata and Shino from the options.

...And that was basically the extent of his social circle. Masaru didn't really know anyone on Team Ten outside of Ino's fangirl tendencies, and he'd rather not risk his sanity by approaching Lee or Neji. He hung his head with a groan, his shoulders slumping in dismay. "Why are people so _hard_ ," he moaned mournfully.

"Masaru?" He gave a small start as he heard someone call his name and quickly turned to spy the familiar form of his teacher approaching, a plastic bag swinging from his hands. His eyes widened in surprise at the brown-haired man man, turning to face him more fully as the man came to a stop.

"Gaku—uh." He stopped, uncertainty flickering across his face before hesitantly amending, "Um, I mean, T-Tenzo... sensei...?" His teacher's smile grew a little softer at that, chuckling sheepishly.

"It's Tenzo," he confirmed. "Sorry I haven't been around to talk, I got caught up with work."

"Ah, yeah, I figured." Masaru shrugged feebly, glancing to the side awkwardly. Even though a full two weeks had passed since the invasion ended, he hadn't seen his teacher once during that time. He heard from Sasuke that he'd stopped by the hospital when he was still unconscious from exhaustion, but he'd already left by the time Masaru woke up. It had been a bit disappointing, but it didn't come as that big of a surprise given his ANBU status and newly revealed possession of mokuton. The village needed him far more than Masaru did.

His thoughts cut off when Tenzo suddenly placed a hand on his head, making Masaru snap his gaze to stare at him wide-eyed. "S-Sensei?"

"Hey, don't make that sort of face," Tenzo told him, and then ruffled Masaru's hair. The boy squawked in dismay as he ducked away, quickly trying to fix it. Naturally it didn't help much, since his hair _always_ looked like perpetual case of bedhead, but it still _felt_ really weird and lopsided.

"Don't do that!" he whined, and Tenzo just grinned down at him.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. I've wanted to do that forever, but I was always afraid I'd get my hand tangled in there." Considering Masaru had broken three different brushes in the past five years, he decided Tenzou's concerns were perfectly justified.

"Still rude," he grumbled with a pout.

"Anyways, I think we're overdue for a talk," Tenzo continued, and eyed the surrounding street. "I'd prefer to have it somewhere private, though. How about we go to your apartment? I can make lunch." Masaru looked at him in faint surprise, but after a moment he frowned and slowly nodded before leading the way.

The two lapsed into silence as they walked to the apartment, and upon arriving Tenzo went straight to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Masaru meanwhile headed to the living room, his eyes roving over the furniture which become so familiar over the past five years. He made his way to the couch, which had once seemed so large when he and Sasuke had been tiny eight-year-old boys, and stopped to stare at the painting hanging on the wall above it.

Wispy silhouettes danced beneath a tree decorated with glowing lanterns, waving red and white fans styled after the emblem donned by the Uchiha clan. Glowing blue embers circled the tree and dancers, giving the image a mystical, otherworldly feel, and in the center of the scene a small child clad in a white yukata reached for one. Masaru leaned forward and carefully traced a finger along the child's face, their features vague and indistinct yet still somehow portraying a sense of awe and wonder.

This painting had been one of his mother's most prized creations, and one of the few pieces of art he'd retrieved from his house after everything that happened. When he first saw it she'd explained that the embers symbolized _hitodama_ , the souls of the dead, and that the child represented life. He remembered Akari had always found the painting a little creepy, but Masaru always felt a strange sense of peace when looking at the flames and dancing silhouettes.

Fittingly, she had titled it _Requiem for Our Ancestors_.

"Lunch is ready." Tenzo's voice drew his attention, and Masaru glanced over his shoulder to see his teacher standing by the kitchen counter with two plates loaded with onigiri and minced vegetables on the side. The man eyed the painting a bit strangely, shuffling awkwardly. "That's, uh, a nice painting." His voice held a note of hesitation, but Masaru barely noticed as he glanced back to the painting with a fond smile.

"Yeah. It is." Turning away, he trotted over to the counter to grab one of the plates and sat at the table. Tenzo slipped into the seat across from him, poking his own meal with a faint frown.

"I guess I owe you an explanation, don't I?"

"That would be nice," Masaru agreed quietly, and the man sighed.

"Well, I suppose I should start at the beginning. You're pretty bright so you've probably figured it out by now, but I'm not a normal jounin. I'm a career ANBU, and my latest mission was to take on the role of teaching and monitoring you after you failed your first team. Obviously, the mokuton makes me a valuable target though, which is why I was given orders to hide it as long as possible. That's also why I was assigned a codename—we didn't want to risk more identifying information spreading if I slipped."

"Why?" Masaru asked, frowning at him quizzically as he pushed around some of the vegetables with his chopsticks. "I mean, I get why I was allowed to graduate anyway, since the Hokage explained it, but... why you?"

"A few reasons," Tenzo began. "For starters, your Sharingan meant you'd have to train with Kakashi-senpai at some point. I'm one of the few people who's worked with him enough to have a basic idea of his training style, and also what using the Sharingan actually entails. On that note, by now you've surely noticed the Sharingan is a highly sought-after ability. The council wanted to make sure whoever took on the role of your teacher would be sufficiently prepared to defend you."

His expression grew a bit more somber at that, his mouth twisting into a rueful frown. "Of course, it looks like I didn't do a very good job though," he sighed. "A lot happened during the invasion, and I haven't even been by to visit you since it ended."

"It's fine," Masaru assured him quickly. "I know you've probably been busy with ANBU stuff, and it's not like I was actually _hurt_. I was just in the hospital for chakra exhaustion, so—"

"Masaru." Tenzo interrupted him calmly, and when Masaru looked at him to find the older male giving him a level look that left him silent. "I'm not going to talk to you about what Gaara said. I never met your mother, so I'm not the best one for that. But one of the duties of a jounin sensei is to support their students after their first kill." Masaru opened his mouth but no words came out, and he blinked slowly before lowering his gaze to his food.

"Oh," he whispered lamely. A tense silence fell over them, the boy shifting uncomfortably as his teacher studied him with unreadable eyes.

"Only one other person from your class killed someone before the invasion, and you killed _two_ people. That's not something most people would find easy to digest." Masaru didn't look at him, his mind flashing back to the day of the invasion. The sickening crack of the first man's neck as he hit the tree, and then the sight of the charred body falling from the fireball—and then their corpses, glowing bright white inside his mindscape.

He frowned, shoving the memory away. "I don't regret it," he declared bluntly, and speared one of the vegetables on his plate with a loud _clink_. "They wanted to capture me. I acted in self defense." His eyes flitted up towards his teacher, his mouth curving into a dry, humorless smile. "I told you when we met, I don't have problems killing in those situations."

The look on Tenzo's face suggested a bit of surprise at the bluntness of his response, and Masaru just quietly began eating. The older male's brow furrowed, frowning deeply. "Masaru, it's okay to be upset. You're not in the field, you don't need to act tough and hide your emotions."

"I'm not acting though. Killing someone still feels weird and kinda freaky to think about, but those men wanted to capture me. I _heard_ them say it." His hands tightened around the chopsticks, but he still managed to shrug and add nonchalantly, "If I didn't kill them, who knows what would have happened?"

Tenzo didn't respond right away, just studying him closely. "...You're unusually calm about this," he remarked, clearly probing for more information.

"I had a lot of time to think the past few days," Masaru responded simply, focusing more on his meal than the conversation. "I'm fine, sensei. By the way, do you remember Fu?" The blatant topic change seemed to catch Tenzo off-guard, and he eyed Masaru with a thoughtful frown before nodding.

"Fu... She was that girl from Taki, right? The one who said you two would be best friends?"

"Yeah," Masaru confirmed with a nod. "I had a lot of time to think in the hospital, and I ended up running into Shibuki when I got discharged and I gave him a letter to give to her. So we're probably going to be pen pals."

"Pen pals, huh?" Tenzo raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to get around your social anxiety, I suppose. Did you get approval from the Hokage?" Masaru froze, and then slowly sank down his seat with a low, drawn-out groan. Tenzo's face quickly morphed into shock and then panic, and he quickly waved his hands. "H-hey, don't get upset! I'm sure Shibuki took it to him and got formal approval!"

"What if she writes the letter and it gets taken at the gates because it's not allowed, and no one ever tells me and so she waits forever for me to write?"

"Masaru, even if it got intercepted for being unapproved, someone would tell you! At the very least you'd probably get a visit from an investigator about it."

"I'm going to be dragged to T&I!?" Tenzo stiffened, his face frozen in panic and horror, and Masaru proceeded to calmly push his plate away so he could safely plant his face on the counter with a long whine.

"N-no! No, no, no, you won't get dragged to T&I! I mean, even if you did, you wouldn't be tortured, the worst you'd have to deal with is a mind walk and, oh kami that still sounds awful," he realized gravely when Masaru's shoulders started to shake, and then quickly backtracked. "It won't get to that level, really! I swear—" He stopped as he heard a small snort, and then his face smoothed into a blank mask. "...You're not crying, are you?"

Masaru lifted his head to reveal a cheeky grin, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Sensei, remember that question about why you're my teacher?" he asked. "Follow-up to that: who thought it was a good idea to place two people with horrible social skills on a team alone?"

"...Masaru. Friendly reminder, I _am_ your commanding officer." The smile Tenzo sported could only be described as ghoulish. Masaru blinked and then dove under the table with a yelp, still grinning even as he curled into a small ball on the floor. The earlier tension had evaporated, replaced by a playful, if slightly intimidating atmosphere. Masaru preferred it that way; talking about serious topics like death felt too heavy.

He knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever, but for now he'd take any break he could get.

* * *

"So, how do you like Ichiraku's so far?" Naruto asked enthusiastically as he ate from one of the disposable containers Ayame had given him. "It's awesome, don'tcha think? I mean, it's _way_ better fresh," he added off-handedly, "And they usually don't do take-away. But this works too!" He beamed at his companion, eagerly waiting for his response.

Gaara just stared at him blankly. He seemed to do that a lot.

"You are very... loud," the redhead finally remarked. "Are you always like this?"

"Heheh, yeah," Naruto confirmed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "I guess it can be kinda overwhelming sometimes, huh?"

As he spoke Gaara regarded him with contemplative eyes and Naruto let his smile fade naturally, turning his gaze to the nearly-empty ramen container on his lap. Today marked his fourth visit with Gaara since the invasion ended, and the first time he'd introduced Gaara to the majesty that was Ichiraku Ramen. It had been a pain to convince old man Hokage to let him meet Gaara, and it had taken another three days to break down the Pervy-Sage enough to agree too.

Truth be told, Naruto still felt a _little_ uncomfortable around Gaara. Just two weeks ago he'd been crazy and under the influence of a psychotic tanuki after all, and for all his naiveté and optimism, Naruto wasn't _stupid_. Every time they met Gaara acted so guarded and quiet; he wasn't hostile, but he wasn't really friendly, either, just... quiet. He knew that Gaara's personality shift could be attributed more to shock from his seal being modified than an _actual_ change, and who knew what would happen once the shock wore off?

Gaara seemed to pick up on his discomfort, because he narrowed his eyes and questioned, "Why are you trying to be so nice to me?"

Naruto perked up at the question, looking at Gaara in surprise before shrugging and allowing an easy smile to slip onto his face. "Well, it's just, we're both jinchuuriki, so I guess I kinda know what you're going through." As he spoke he scratched at the whisker marks on his cheek. "Like I told you earlier, I have the Kyuubi—the Nine-Tailed Fox. Don't really talk to him much, though. He can break through the seal and comment now and then, but usually he just sleeps."

Even as he spoke a snort sounded inside his head, making him almost wince. He'd been able to feel his fuzzy brain-mate stirring inside the seal throughout lunch; the fox had been making snide comments about his fellow Tailed Beast's jailor, but most of them had been quiet enough that Naruto had little issue ignoring it. For the time being he shoved it away.

Gaara regarded him silently for a moment as he digested the response, his face unreadable. Forget Sasuke or Neji, Gaara was on a whole other level of emotional blankness; Naruto couldn't tell if he was glaring or just thinking. Eyebrows really added a whole other dimension to facial expression that Naruto hadn't appreciated before.

Eventually, though, he looked down to his ramen container, much to Naruto's relief. "I... have heard Shukaku for a majority of my life," Gaara commented. "It is... different, to not hear him constantly anymore."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Naruto grumbled, frowning slightly. From what Pervy-Sage told him, the Ichibi had basically messed with Gaara's mind his entire life and tricked him into thinking he was Gaara's mom or something. Naruto didn't _totally_ understand, but it made the comments about "mother wants you blood" a _lot_ creepier in retrospect.

Hopefully now that it couldn't talk to him freely anymore, Gaara's current personality shift would become more permanent.

...Aaaand now the fox was ranting about weak drunkard tanukis. Great. Naruto sighed and closed his eyes, focusing on forcibly closing the link. It took some effort Fortunately he had a decent amount of control over blocking the fox after almost five years of practice, so he managed to shut it off with minimal problems. He'd probably get an earful for that later, but right now he didn't really want to hear it.

"Did Konoha not shun you as well?" Gaara asked, breaking him from his thoughts and prompting Naruto to look at him in surprise. Blinking owlishly as he processed the question, his mood fell a little further and he glanced to his empty ramen bowl with a mild frown.

"Yeah, a bit," he admitted softly. "I grew up mostly alone. I pretty much had to raise myself. But I've found some awesome people who care about me!" His chest warmed as he remembered getting ramen with Iruka-sensei and the team dinners at Sasuke and Masaru's apartment.

 _Mostly awesome,_ he mentally amended with an internal wince as he remembered the long period of silence between him and Masaru over the past five years. Back then he'd thought Masaru might be the closest thing to a best friend he had, but then Masaru suddenly stopped coming to school and when he came back he was totally different. At least now they were talking again, which was great, but Naruto might never be able to fully get over that.

 _(He waited for two hours._

 _Two hours at the foot of the Hokage Rock, constantly checking the time on his watch and patrolling the area to see if Masaru would come. Even by the end of the first hour he'd started to lose hope, but still he stayed and waited, because—_

 _Because_ what _, exactly? For a second Naruto didn't know. He didn't want Masaru to be like the rest. He didn't want him to pretend he didn't exist. He wanted to_ hope _, dammit! He wanted him to show up and then they'd go celebrate his birthday and Masaru would finally_ smile _again and everything would go back to the way it used to be!_

 _But even after two hours, Masaru didn't show up. As the sun began to set Naruto scowled at the reddening sky and reluctantly shuffled off to the woods, his head drooping in disappointment._

 _Just one friend... Was that too much to ask?)_

Remembering that night made his stomach coil in discomfort, the muscles beneath the seal seeming to throb. Naruto swallowed and pushed the memory away, focusing his attention on Gaara instead. "What about you?" he asked, leaning forward. "You still had your siblings, right? Uh... Puppet-guy and... Tem...pu...ra...?"

His voice tapered off slightly as he struggled to remember their names. He'd seen them and talked to them a couple times, since they were staying in the same area as Gaara, but he hadn't really talked to either of them beyond basic greetings. If Gaara found it insulting, he did not comment on it.

"We lived separately," he replied blandly. "We did not interacted often outside of training."

"...Oh," Naruto said lamely, slumping dejectedly. _Great going,_ he thought sarcastically. _Why don't I bring up his dead uncle while I'm at it?_

"...However," Gaara suddenly said, and Naruto sat upright in keen attention. "I... believe I did have one friend. For a time." The hesitance in his voice gave Naruto pause, and he frowned as he leaned back, trying to figure out how to proceed. Obviously, Gaara had just divulged a major secret, but the way he said it made Naruto unsure if he should pry for more information or try to avoid it.

"Do you, uh, wanna talk about them?" he asked after a few seconds, and Gaara seemed to contemplate this for about a minute.

"Perhaps," he finally decided. "But not now."

...Okay, that was just kinda confusing. Either he wanted to talk about it or he didn't. Naruto managed to restrain himself from voicing this out loud though, somehow realizing that might upset Gaara—and upsetting an only recently stabilized jinchuuriki seemed like a _bad_ idea. Sakura had drilled Naruto's lack of tact into his head hard enough at this point for him to recognize that some topics shouldn't be pressed.

"Well, in that case, what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

Gaara just stared at him in silence, and then proceeded to slowly lower his gaze to his ramen begin eating his ramen.

This time Naruto didn't even need to block the kyuubi's damn laughter, his own internal groaning drowned it out just fine.

* * *

Hiruzen watched through his crystal ball as Naruto slumped with an exaggerated groan, unable to help the fond smile that took shape on his tired features. Only Naruto would treat a former enemy as a long-time friend after such a short time. He still had his reservations about the blossoming friendship between the two jinchuuriki, but the sight of the blond's bright enthusiasm and generally goofy nature never failed to lighten his mood, however briefly it might be.

Across from him Jiraiya chuckled, leaning back in his seat with a smug smile. "Gotta hand it to the kid, he's got some kind of magic touch," he commented lightly. "He doesn't have Minato's charisma, but he's definitely something special."

"He does," Hiruzen agreed with a tired smile, but the worry didn't leave his face. He had been apprehensive about Naruto's insistence on meeting the other jinchuuriki; he knew his main motivation was their shared experiences with Mito's array. It still ached to think about what happened to the poor boy. Naruto had not suffered as much as Gaara, but the alterations to his seal had ultimately allowed the fox to speak to him more freely. A steep price to prevent it from breaking free that horrible night.

He shelved the thought for the time being as Jiraiya spoke. "Onto business, I hear the next Kazekage has been appointed," he commented. His earlier mirth had vanished from his face, his expression now schooled into something more somber and serious as he gave his leader a pointed, probing look.

"To an extent," Hiruzen allowed with a brief nod. "His wife has agreed to take on his role until a more qualified replacement can be found." Jiraiya snorted in faint amusement, rolling his eyes.

"Funny. Last I checked, she married him just so Suna could have a qualified backup Kazekage in case he kicked the bucket before his kids had enough experience to take the title. They sure as hell didn't marry for love. Although I guess the sex was probably pretty good..."

"In any event, she has requested we send Gaara back at our soonest convenience," Hiruzen continued, ignoring his former student's perverted musings as he gave him a pointed look. To his credit Jiraiya picked up on the underlying question rather fast, huffing a sigh and crossing his arms.

"Honestly, I can't get a proper read on his seal. I don't even know where to _begin_ with mapping it. But it's been two weeks and it hasn't broken yet, so I'm just going to assume it won't suddenly unravel overnight. It should hold at least long enough to ship him back to Suna. And on that note," he added dryly, "I'd like to get him away from Konoha as soon as possible."

"This isn't about his seal anymore," Hiruzen observed, studying his former student intently.

"It's not," Jiraiya confirmed shortly. "He's not hostile, but he's still showing an interest in Masaru and Sasuke— _especially_ Masaru," he added with emphasis. "It's already bad enough he got that information on Akari, and can I remind you we _still_ don't know why he cared about her at all. I don't like it. I'd rather not let him traumatize my other godson any more than he already has."

"We would prefer to avoid that as well," Hiruzen replied with a weary nod. "I can assure you now, I plan to do everything in my power to keep them apart."

"I'll be holding you to that." Jiraiya rose from the chair as he spoke, his serious expression relaxing a bit. "Anyways, I better head back. I'd rather not leave those two brats alone for too long, especially since Tenzo's finally on break." Of course, it went without saying that he didn't consider the full ANBU guard stationed on Gaara at all times as suitable supervision without Tenzo there. "I'll be sure to send in a formal report on the seal tonight."

"Very well. Farewell, Jiraiya." The white-haired man waved as he took his leave, closing the door with a soft _thud_ , and just like that Hiruzen found himself alone with only his thoughts for company. Alone in the privacy of his office he allowed himself to slump tiredly in his seat, taking a long drag on his pipe. His gaze slid to the stack of mission requests and promotion forms sitting on the corner of his desk, mind already racing. Exhaling a ring of smoke, he reached over and pulled one form closer, nodding to himself in mild approval.

Yes, this should work nicely...

* * *

 **Hello everyone! At long last, Echoes of Light is back! I am so sorry for the long wait, and to apologize here's an extra long chapter!**

This might be the longest chapter to date? I'm not sure. Not much happened, except for some interesting foreshadowing of a lot of things: Masaru and Tenzo finally cleared up Tenzo's name, Naruto is trying to be friends with Gaara, Gaara still wants to talk to Masaru, Rasa was married to someone else who is now Kazekage—oh yes, that is very interesting. Also, Hinata is STILL under way more pressure than canon and has run away from home to stay with the Aburame family, including Torune. Yep, lots of interesting plot bunnies.

Sorry again for the delay. I wanted to build up a buffer before posting again and I planned to post last week, but then I got news that a bunch of my files from my old hard drive could be recovered! My files aren't complete and everything's kind of scattered, but it is just such a relief to have any of my files. This chapter is actually a mishmash of recovered scenes, with a few newer scenes added (particularly the last segment). I'm thinking of going back and changing a couple scenes in the last two chapters with the original version, too, namely Sakura and Sasuke's conversation at the hospital, and Konan and Tobi's brief talk last chapter.

Beyond that, in other news: the story idea I mentioned last time for a Mokuton!civilian-Hatake OC sadly won't be real. I keep getting block and the concept I have is too limited for my liking. However, with the recovery of my documents, I also recovered two more awesome stories I might post sometime soon! One's a time travel fic about Shikamaru, but unlike most fics he went back at a point still mid-Shippuden, among... _other_ twists. I only have the first three chapters saved, but the first major plot twist gives me a LOT of possibilities. The other one is about an SI-OC who ends up in Kiri, who is NOT stressing over changing canon or saving the day, or even trying to hide her reincarnation status... mainly because she stopped following Naruto before things got REALLY crazy. It's more silly, in a black humor sort of way (her first encounter with Kisame is at age 5/6 after cutting off a bully's toe, which she then gives him; Kisame is... _slightly_ disturbed by her).

Whatever I post, the updates would probably be erratic compared to this one. I'd like to know what you guys think of those ideas!

Anyways, other than that, I have one more piece of news: **Echoes of Light will now update on Thursdays.** On Mondays I have classes from 12-4, and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays my classes start later, but they go until at LEAST 5. Thursdays are the only day I'd be guaranteed to have enough free time to edit and post the chapters at a reasonable time. So, yeah. That's all for now. See you guys next week!


	47. Chapter 44: A New Adventure

_Note: Sorry if you got a sudden extra notification! I realized after posting I forgot to include an omake! Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I did~  
_

Chapter 44

* * *

 _"Every day a new adventure is waiting to begin. In other words, protagonists don't get sick days."_

* * *

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

The wall clock ticked loudly as Sakura hunched over the sink, her gaze fixed on the minute hand even as she furiously scrubbed the dishes. Every second the minute hand ticked a little closer to twelve, the hour hand slowly moving to follow it. Once both aligned atop the twelve she abruptly set the dishes and rag on the counter and headed for the kitchen door, peeling off her rubber gloves and tossing it into a bin just outside the door.

Working at the hospital over the past two weeks had been _exhausting_. She had volunteered out of gratitude to them for helping her father, and she'd been put to work every day. As a medical trainee with minimal experience with the Mystical Healing Palm Sakura couldn't work with patients yet, but the hospital had plenty of menial work available for her. Laundry, cleaning bed pans, delivering messages, disinfecting rooms and equipment, organizing files...

The amount of work available to a low-rank trainee was endless, and the six-hour shifts often left her ready to crash when they ended. At least she got some practical experience out of it, and got to see _real_ medical ninja in action. Today marked her last volunteer shift though, and Sakura felt no end of relief at that.

Patients and nurses dressed in scrubs gave her cheery greetings as she passed them in the halls, and she smiled and politely greeted them back, but she didn't slow down. She sighed as she stepped out into the warm sunlight, stretching her arms above her head with a small grunt before clapping.

"Okay, volunteering's done," she declared more to herself than anyone else. "Next stop, Ankichi's to pick up anmitsu, and then home for a nice relaxing bath!"

Hey, she'd been working hard recently. She deserved a reward.

Her plans would be disrupted though, because before she could reach her favorite sweets vendor she heard Ino's familiar voice call out to her. "Sakura! Hey!" Surprised, she stopped and turned to see her best friend jogging towards her, waving with an eager smile. Chouji trailed behind her, munching on chips like usual, though oddly enough Shikamaru didn't seem to be with them.

"Hey, Ino!" Sakura greeted, smiling as her best friend caught up to her. Ino placed her hands on her hips with an exaggerated sigh, leering at her with mock disdain.

"Where have you been? It feels like it's been _ages_ since we talked!"

"Hey, I saw you just last week!" Sakura protested, and Ino huffed.

"You _know_ that's not nearly good enough. I have half a mind to revoke your best friend status!" Her words sounded sharp, but they had a playful undercurrent to them and Sakura knew she wasn't serious. By this point Chouji had caught up, and she turned to greet him with a smile.

"Hey, Chouji," she greeted. "It's been a while. What've you been up to?"

"Not much, I guess," he replied with a shrug. "Just a lot of D-ranks. Team training's been called off for now."

"Yeah, I can relate," Sakura sighed. "I've been volunteering at the hospital every day. Naruto and Sasuke visited once, but my dad kinda chased them off on accident."

"By accident?" Chouji repeated, puzzled.

"...Don't ask. Anyways, no Shikamaru today?" While they might be teammates and old friends due to their clans' intertwined history, from what Sakura could tell Ino and Chouji didn't have too much in common. At the very least they didn't seem like they'd hang out all alone. Or... maybe something changed since Sakura last saw them?

"We met for lunch," Ino replied with a small huff. "But then he got called to the Hokage's office."

"He did?" Sakura looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

"Chuunin stuff, I guess," Chouji said with a shrug, and Sakura started to respond only to freeze as his words processed.

"Chuunin stuff? But isn't he...?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" Ino asked, smirking at her. "Yesterday Shikamaru got promoted." Sakura froze and gaped at her in shock, her brain struggling to comprehend her words. Shikamaru? Promoted? Fast promotions to Chuunin weren't exactly unheard of, but—they hadn't even been genin for more than _six months_. Even in wartime, that kind of time frame wouldn't be standard.

"He said Shino got promoted too," Chouji added, nibbling on a chip, and Sakura redirected her disbelieving stare towards him. Shino too? _Two_ rookies!?

At this point Ino placed a hand under Sakura's gaping jaw and clamped it shut. "Hey, you're gonna catch flies with your mouth hanging open like that!" she teased. "You need to keep up appearances more than ever, especially since Team Seven is the only one without any chuunin." The smug taunt snapped her out of her stupor, and Sakura whirled to face her with a vicious scowl.

"Only because neither of them had a chance to actually fight!" she protested vehemently. "Sasuke-kun would totally have gotten promoted if he'd fought the tournament! And—" She stopped short and deflated slightly. She was going to say he could have won the tournament, but then she realized he'd have to beat Gaara in the first round to move on, and... yeah. Sakura might love Sasuke and think he was super-strong and talented, but she knew better than to expect him to be on the level of a rabid, unstable jinchuuriki.

Still. "He would have been promoted, even if he lost," she grumbled sullenly, crossing her arms with a pout. Ino just smirked, snickering condescendingly.

"Sure, he would have," she said with a sarcastic eye-roll, and Sakura's eye twitched.

"I dunno, he probably had a good shot," Chouji commented thoughtfully, perfectly devoid of the sarcasm his teammate exuded. "He was Rookie of the Year, and we heard from Asuma-sensei that you guys already went on an A-rank mission. And you probably could've been promoted too if you got through the preliminaries."

"Wait, _me_?" Sakura turned to gape at him, and Chouji shrugged.

"Yeah, you're smart. Not as smart as Shikamaru, but you're not as lazy as he is so you'd probably have the same odds he did." As he spoke Ino shot him a death glare, clearly annoyed by him praising Sakura.

"Hey, careful! Her forehead's big enough, if you praise her too much her head'll just get even bigger!"

"But... would it?" Chouji asked. "She's not as egotistical as you. She's nice."

"Wait, are you calling me _mean_!?"

"Uh... maybe a little?" Ino's eyes flashed dangerously at this, looking ready to explode, but before she could open her mouth Sakura suddenly spoke up.

"I... don't know about that," she said slowly. "I never really... _did_ much. Even during the invasion, I was more support than anything, I don't think I have the experience or skills for promotion yet." The others paused and turned to look at her in mild surprise.

"Wait, seriously?" Ino asked, frowning. "Sakura, you're—"

"Haruno Sakura?" All three jumped in alarm as a monotone voice suddenly spoke next to them, spinning around while scrabbling for their kunai pouches on reflex. Panic flashed briefly in Ino's eyes, her whole body going tense, and Sakura and Chouji instinctively moved to partially block their friend. The bored-looking chuunin who'd approached them didn't look particularly impressed by the display, just sighed and rolled his eyes. "You _are_ Haruno Sakura, right?"

"Um... yes?" Sakura responded hesitantly, slowly relaxing. "Why...?"

"You're wanted at the Hokage's office for a mission," he responded flatly, and then headed off, grumbling under his breath, "Can't believe I've been downgraded to playing messenger to a bunch of genin..." Blinking, after a moment Sakura sighed and looked at Ino.

"Uh, sorry, looks like I have to go," she said apologetically. Ino didn't respond right away though, just continued watching the chuunin as he left. Sakura frowned, watching her friend's hands tremble at her side. "Ino? Are you—"

"I'm fine," the blonde suddenly cut in. "I just—I, I need to go. Later." She turned on her heel and stalked away, not giving Sakura a chance to respond. The pinkette's shoulders slumped as she watched her best friend depart, and Chouji glanced at her with a frown.

"Uh, don't worry Sakura-chan, I'll go after her," he muttered, and Sakura smiled at him feebly.

"Would you? Thanks, Chouji." He nodded at her and quickly headed off after his teammate, while Sakura just sighed before turning and slowly trudging towards the academy. Ino had been so cheerful and normal during the meeting, she'd almost forgotten how just two weeks ago her best friend had stood in her family's flower shop arranging flowers in silence, her face pale and her pale blue eyes haunted and empty.

Seeing Ino now just reminded Sakura that no one had escaped the invasion unscathed, physically or mentally.

* * *

"Why the hell are there Tora missions _now_ ," Masaru grumbled under his breath, scowling as he trudged down the street. Next to him Kiba just groaned, and even Akamaru looked more annoyed than usual as he tiredly dragged his paws between them. Due to Konoha's current shortage of shinobi all the genin teams had been sort of scattered to carry out various D-rank missions across the village, and the unlikely trio had been summoned to catch the infamous feline terror.

No matter how Masaru looked at it, this team made _absolutely no sense_. Dogs _hated_ cats. Cats _hated_ dogs. Cartoons didn't just have cats and dogs fight for the heck of it, they based the rivalry on actual animals. Granted, Inuzuka ninken _could_ get along better with cats than regular dogs, but that tolerance didn't apply to Tora. See, that tolerance applied to regular cats and ninneko. But Tora?

Tora wasn't a cat. Tora was the natural predator of genin.

"We should've just applied for more cleanup duty," Kiba groused, wiping his nose, and Masaru and Akamaru could only grunt in firm agreement.

As the two genin heaved tired sighs Akamaru abruptly perked up, sniffing at the air pointedly. Yipping once, he turned and veered away from the others, breaking into a run. In their exhausted states, Masaru and Kiba just turned to stare at each other and blinked slowly for about five seconds before suddenly registering Akamaru just ran off. Jolting like they'd been shocked, they spun around and chased after the puppy.

"Akamaru!? Where're you going now!?" Kiba called, looking to Masaru for assistance.

"Please smell Tora's corpse, please smell Tora's corpse," he chanted under his breath, eyes closed and hands clasped as in prayer even as he ran. Kiba stared at him for approximately two seconds, and then turned clasped his hands together.

"Please smell Tora's corpse, please smell Tora's corpse..."

The two continued to chant quietly until they finally caught up to the wayward ninken. To their immense disappointment, Akamaru did not, in fact, smell Tora's corpse. However, he had led them to a stand selling skewers with a decent variety of meats doused in savory-smelling sauces, yipping at them excitedly and wagging his tail. Surprised, the two boys exchanged one more look and then shrugged.

Barbecue skewers proved to be the perfect way to recover from the horrid mission they'd just endured. "I didn't even know Konoha _had_ fish canneries," Masaru muttered as he bit into a meaty chicken dumpling on his skewer. Next to him Kiba nearly choked on his own mouthful of beef, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Ugh! Don't remind me," he groaned, sticking his tongue out. "That place smelled _rank_!" Akamaru whined in agreement, nudging Masaru's foot. When he glanced down he found two brown eyes staring up at him balefully, the puppy's little black nose twitching and wrinkling as if recalling the horrors of the odor. Staring at him silently, Masaru darted a brief glance towards the half-eaten skewer in his hand.

"I'm not falling for it," he declared flatly, taking a bite for emphasis, and Akamaru slumped to the ground with a dejected whine.

"You sure you don't want any of this sauce?" Kiba asked, gesturing to a small bowl filled with a golden-orange sauce. "It's pretty good." Masaru's face twisted in revulsion, nearly gagging on the bit of meat in his mouth, and he swallowed roughly before shaking his head.

"No way, that sauce uses sesame oil."

"What, you don't like sesame sauce?" Masaru grimaced, averting his gaze.

 _Face tinted red, eyelids swollen and puffy, hives breaking out at a rapid pace while gasping loudly for air—_

"No," he replied thickly, shoving the thought away. Appetite lost, he dropped the skewer onto his plate and pulled out a small notebook with his clean hand, pushing the plate away to make room for it on the counter. As he opened it and flipped through the pages Kiba leaned over to peer at it, unmistakable curiosity glinting in his eyes.

"What's that?" he asked, his words slightly muffled and slurred.

"Notes on Foxfire," Masaru explained. "I've been working on extending how long I can hold it consistently outside battle." Back during the invasion Masaru had gotten some real first-hand experience with Foxfire, and the results had been... disappointing. He'd spent the past two weeks basically obsessing over how to improve it, so his notes had become _very_ detailed.

"Oh yeah? What're you at?"

"Eleven minutes, thirteen seconds is the highest record. Average is nine minutes, thirty-eight seconds."

"Before the exams, you were at eight or nine minutes outside fighting, right?" Kiba leaned back on his stool, face screwing in concentration as he tried to remember the exact number. "You could only hold it for a bit over a minute when we actually fought though."

"Yeah. I want to try to get it up to at least an average of ten minutes by the week's end." He shrugged off-handedly, glancing over the recorded times. Ten minutes seemed impressive on paper, but that number only applied to his ability to maintain it under passive conditions. In combat, it would probably translate to two minutes of consistent firepower, three if he conserved his energy and stuck purely to taijutsu without trying to manipulate the shape.

Manipulating fire to make claws was good and fun, but flaming punches hurt just as bad.

"I don't use elemental jutsu, so I can't really help," Kiba commented with a shrug. "But for what it's worth, do you really need it _constantly_ active?" The question gave Masaru pause, slowly raising inquisitive eyes to him.

"...Explain."

Kiba huffed and crossed his arms. "I dunno. Having your hand be on fire is awesome and'll hurt like hell, but I don't think you need it to _always_ be on fire. With small fry, all you really need is one lucky shot and they're down for the count." Masaru frowned, leaning back in his seat as he contemplated it. Kiba had a point.

Truth be told, Masaru didn't think the duration to be the main problem, but instead _how_ he applied it. Foxfire had room for so much versatility compared to other katon techniques, and his lack of experience limited his ability to use it to its full extent. However, in order to gain that experience he'd need to be able to use it long enough to actually practice... So extending the duration he could hold it still remained the most immediate step to mastering it.

"Mom could have just planted the knowledge in me," he said sourly, half-glaring at his notes. "She planted a fire dragon in my neck that's probably A-rank and I might never be able to use on my own. But she didn't even leave me any notes on the one jutsu I _can_ use."

"Bummer," Kiba remarked dryly, clearly unsympathetic to his plight. Masaru just groaned and let his head fall onto the countertop atop his notes.

Sometimes—just sometimes—he really wished his mom had been more normal.

"...Hey, Masaru," Kiba said after a moment, sounding slightly hesitant and uncertain. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about—" He cut himself off with a startled yelp, and Masaru quickly lifted his head and nearly fell back with his own yelp as he saw a masked woman with purple hair standing behind them. He heard Akamaru growling before a white blur surged forward, aiming for the woman's legs. To her credit the ANBU didn't even flinch as she neatly dodged it, body-flickering slightly to the left to avoid the canine with minimal effort.

"Uchiha Masaru, the Hokage has requested your presence," she declared in an inflectionless voice, and Masaru blinked in surprise.

"Me?" he asked after a second. The ANBU operative gave a single nod.

"I have orders to escort you to the Tower at your earliest convenience," she expanded, and Masaru blinked again. Paranoia flared in his mind as memories of two men with similar masks flickered in his awareness, making his chest tighten. Suspecting someone who should for all intents and purposes be an ally stung slightly, but he'd nearly fallen for a fake in the past.

He glanced at Kiba, and when their eyes met the Inuzuka gave a small shrug. _Scent's unfamiliar, but most ANBU are,_ his face seemed to say. Great. So no help there. Hesitating, after a moment Masaru looked back to the ANBU and slowly got to his feet. "I can head there on my own," he responded warily. Whether real or not he _had_ to go to the Hokage now, if only to verify the woman's claims.

The ANBU offered no objections though, just gave another brief nod. "Very well. Report to the Tower immediately." With that she disappeared in a body flicker, and Masaru felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. The fact she didn't try to coerce him into accepting her escort services gave an air of legitimacy to the woman's ANBU uniform, so he decided the summons were most likely real.

"Thanks for the talk," he said, getting out some change to put on the table to cover his half of the meal. "I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, guess so," Kiba agreed with a half-hearted shrug. "We can talk later." Something seemed... off, about his response, not as energetic as usual. Masaru wanted to press for more information, but after a moment he decided against it. Reporting to the Hokage took priority right now, and he could always talk to Kiba later.

The trip to the Tower proved uneventful, and when he arrived a chuunin assistant quickly ushered him to the Hokage's office, so he silently filed the ANBU with the otter mask as an actual ANBU. Perhaps he shouldn't be building up a mental list of active ANBU, but given his recent experience with imposters he felt justified in his paranoia.

When he arrived at the office though he paused in the doorway, surprised to find three others already waiting in front of the desk. Sasuke and Sakura turned to look at the door when it opened, their faces matching his surprise upon seeing him. However, instead of Naruto, the trio was rounded out by Shikamaru—

 _Is that a Chuunin Vest?_

"Masaru, welcome," the Hokage greeted with a grandfatherly smile. "Now that you're here, we can begin the briefing."

"Briefing?" he repeated, slipping into mission mode. Missions typically didn't require an in-person pre-briefing with the Hokage, even the ones with mixed teams. His first one had been an exception since his own situation had been out of the ordinary, and it had _also_ involved escorting the Kazekage's children.

"This is the first mission that Chuunin Nara Shikamaru will be charged with leading," the Hokage explained in an authoritative voice, answering his unspoken question. "As I'm sure everyone here is aware, promotions typically do not happen so early in one's career. While Shikamaru has demonstrated the necessary skills for a Chuunin, he still lacks the field experience needed to back it up. As such, this mission will be a trial for him to build that experience. Shikamaru, will you explain?"

"Yeah, sure," Shikamaru sighed, slouching even as the others shot him skeptical looks. Even as a chuunin, the lazy boy just never changed. "It's a basic item retrieval mission. Our intel says a traveling merchant caravan got their hands on an old war fan that's believed to have belonged to the First Hokage's wife."

"Wait, _Mito-sama's tessen_?" Sakura cut in, her eyes suddenly seeming to glow as she stared at him open-mouthed. Masaru flinched at the excited aura she suddenly exuded (were those _sparkles_?), while Sasuke twitched and inched away from his teammate ever so slightly.

"What's so special about a war fan?" he muttered under his breath, and twitched again when Sakura made a choking noise next to him.

"It's not just any war fan, it's _Mito-sama's_ tessen!" she scolded, turning to shoot him the kind of scolding frown usually reserved for Naruto. "She wasn't just the First Hokage's wife, Mito-sama was one of the greatest fuinjutsu masters to ever exist! If that tessen _did_ belong to her, it's probably covered in seals!"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Shikamaru acknowledged with a shrug. "If another village got their hands on it, they might be able to reproduce the seals on it and use it against us. But that said, we don't actually know if it belonged to her yet. Our job's to confirm if it's the real deal, and if it is, to retrieve it without giving away what it is. They know it's a war fan, but they don't know its significance."

"Ideally you will be able to pay for it peacefully," the Third Hokage added. "The village will provide a set amount of funds for it. However, if the price is unreasonable, or they realize what it is, you're authorized to steal it or use force. That said," he glanced to Shikamaru, "We don't want them to realize that the fan is your objective."

The newly-minted chuunin sighed and nodded, recognizing the cue to resume speaking. "The caravan's traveling on a set schedule, so we'll intercept them at a town near the border with Tea, a week from now. It should take two days to reach it, so we'll have a few days of downtime before they arrive. During that time we'll pretend to investigate rumors of a roving group of bandits—which," he added with a slump of his shoulders, "might be an actual thing. If it turns out to be true, there's a high chance of combat."

"So basically, two missions for the price of one," Masaru remarked dryly, and Shikamaru sighed.

"Yeah. Troublesome, but we'll at least get any bounties they have. I'll give some more details on those guys when we're actually closer. Anyway, total mission time is projected to take about two weeks max. Outside the travel time we'll be staying at an inn, so pack accordingly. We'll leave later today two hours from now. Any questions?"

"Um, Lord Hokage?" Sakura spoke up hesitantly, half-raising her hand as if to ask for permission to speak. "No offense, but... Why is Masaru here instead of Naruto?" She darted a glance at Masaru as she spoke, likely checking to make sure she didn't offend him, but he just shrugged. No feelings hurt there, he wanted to know too.

"Naruto-kun has some other business to attend to in the village," the Hokage replied simply. All three genin perked up at that, but when he didn't move to elaborate any further they reluctantly let it go. It wasn't their place to press for details, confidentiality and all that.

Naruto would probably fill them in on it afterwards anyway.

When no one else asked any questions, Shikamaru said, "Alright then, that's all I have to say. Go home to prepare, eat lunch and meet at the main gates in two hours." The three offered varying degrees of assent, and then quickly headed out.

"So we're going on a mission led by Shikamaru, huh?" Sakura mused as they walked down the hallway. "Wonder what that'll be like."

"We'll probably have to drag him out of bed every morning," Sasuke declared dryly, earning a soft snort from the kunoichi.

"At least he'll probably be on time," she giggled. "That'll be nice." Her comment made Masaru suddenly pause, his shoulders tensing.

"This is our first mission without a jounin," he said, and the others stopped, staring at him wide-eyed before exchanging small frowns.

"...I guess technically, it is," Sakura agreed lowly, and Masaru looked at her curiously before suddenly understanding.

Masaru had always been accompanied by jounin on missions, but Team Seven had been all on their own in Wave.

* * *

 **OMAKE: Meet the Dad**

Haruno Kizashi had been anticipating his first meeting with Sakura's teammates for some time. His little blossom had put it off long enough, so when he heard them calling her name in the hall he decided to jump on the opportunity. Sure, he might be hospitalized and have only one leg, and he might be a little loopy from drugs, but no matter. Who knew when the next opportunity would arrive?

So it was with a great big smile that he hauled himself off his bed and into the hall to cheerfully greet the boys. While he'd never met them in person, he had seen Sakura's team photo, and thus had no trouble recognizing them. Even with his vision slightly blurred from the painkillers, he could never fail to notice the blinding orange jump suit and red-and-white fan which adorned only two people's backs.

"Sasuke, Naruto!" he called cheerily. "Hello! It's nice to meet you!"

He beamed at them happily as he awaited for a response, and then grew confused when the boys looked at him and screamed. Huh. What was that about?

oOoOo

Naruto and Sasuke had been chasing after Sakura to stop her from beating up the nurse when they'd heard a loud thump from one of the rooms behind them, prompting them to halt their pursuit of their errant teammate and investigate. That noise could be anything from a patient falling out of bed to a spy being subdued, and as shinobi they had a responsibility to investigate.

But this.

This went beyond their expectations.

The two boys turned just in time to see a large, tanned hand slap against the tile floor from inside a doorway, another hand slamming next to it and pulling forward. A mane of unkempt dusty pink hair slowly emerged into their line of sight, the strands falling away as the head tilted to reveal a bright blue eye for just a second before being shielded by a curtain of hair once more.

Nonsensical moaning drifted to their ears as the creature slowly dragged itself into the hallway, causing a cold chill to wash over the boys at the sight. Naruto's face drained of color and even Sasuke felt uncharacteristically uneasy, tensing up anxiously. The boys stood rooted to their spot by nerves, only able to stare as the thing emerged to reveal a sickly green hospital gown which was uncomfortably limp and flat where the right leg should be.

Its slowly turned towards their direction and began dragging itself their way, its lone leg flopping behind it. "Naruuutooo, Sassuukkeeee," the thing slurred, and its hair fell away just enough to reveal a too-large smile, the blue of its eyes glinting within the mane of dusty pink. "Hellloooo... Isssh nisedoo meeyuh..."

Naruto and Sasuke took in the sight of the horror-movie-esque creature crawling towards them, and promptly screamed. When a horde of nurses arrived to kick Team Seven out for causing a scene, they barely even complained.

Ultimately, Haruno Kizashi would forget their first meeting due to his drug-induced haze, but Naruto and Sasuke would find the scene haunting their nightmares for weeks to come.

* * *

 _So, any guesses on how this mission will go wrong?_


	48. Chapter 45: Destination Matters Too

Chapter 45

* * *

 _"People like to say that it's the journey that matters, not the destination. I would like to have a word with those people, because most of my journeys are either incredibly boring or involve some form of mortal peril."_

* * *

All things considered, the travel time went smoothly. The four Leaf genin—or, three genin and one chuunin, now that Shikamaru had been promoted—moved at a pretty decent pace and covered a good amount of ground. With no civilian clients to bog them down, they had no reason to moderate their pace or keep to the ground, and just took to the trees for the most part. They didn't even encounter any bandits while traveling.

The only real hiccup came at the end of the first day, when they'd set up the tents.

A heavy silence fell over the four as they stared at the two freshly erected tents. Two tents, capable of holding two people each for a total of four. The exact number of people on this mission. Four teenagers who happened to be the same age.

Only one of whom happened to be a girl.

"Okay, how are we doing this?" Shikamaru sighed.

"You're the mission lead, you should decide," Sasuke scoffed.

"Yeah, well, usually on missions Ino would just bunk with Asuma-sensei, but here..." He glanced at Sakura, who squeaked and turned red.

"I am NOT sharing with you!" she sputtered, shaking her head violently. "I-I mean, no offense, but—I barely know you, and—and—!" She broke off with a sputter, her cheeks flushing even more pink.

"Yeah, figured as much," Shikamaru muttered. "So that leaves Masaru or Sasuke."

"Me?" Masaru gaped at Shikamaru in shock, his eyes wide, and the Nara snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. Logically, you're probably the best choice. She knows you."

"She knows Sasuke better!" Masaru protested quickly. Sasuke seized up at the reference, and darted a glance at Sakura who now looked even _more_ pink, her green eyes growing wider by the second. Sparkles seemed to manifest around her, her mouth slowly opening. He could almost _hear_ the thoughts running through her head: ' _Me? Sharing a tent with_ Sasuke-kun _!?_ '

"No," he declared briskly. "Just. No." He was not sharing a tent with a potential fan girl if he could help it.

"Fine, we'll just take shifts," Shikamaru sighed, and when the others looked at him curiously he elaborated, "Someone needs be on watch anyway. If Sakura has last shift, she can have her own tent while the rest of us switch places in the other one. Then whoever has the third shift can sleep in her tent." The suggestion caused the others to slowly relax, relieved to have found a solution. Then something else occurred to them.

"Why didn't you suggest that before?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes. Shikamaru just shrugged.

"Didn't feel like it."

Luckily for him, Sakura had yet to master infusing chakra into her punches, but his stomach would still have a pretty bad bruise by the next morning.

* * *

 _"Akari-chan, I-I'm sorry..." Hinata's shoulders shook as tears pricked her eyes, her hands wringing the hem of her shirt. "F-father, the elders—th-they, they said—"_

 _"Forget what they said, Hinata!" Akari cut in, and Hinata physically recoiled in shock, taking a step back as if she'd been slapped._

 _"A-Akari-ch-chan?" she stuttered._

 _"What good have your clan elders ever done for you?" Akari snapped. "They're just putting all this pressure on you and not letting you decide anything for yourself!"_

 _"B-but, th-that's... Th-they're adults, a-and... a-and..."_

 _"Because they're adults, they know better than you?" Akari sniped bitterly. "Is_ that _it? That's just garbage and you know it! I mean, do you really think it's bad being friends with_ me _!?" Her vision blurred as she shouted, Hinata's stunned face growing foggy and indistinct through the haze of tears clouding her eyes._

 _"A-Akari-chan, th-that's not—"_

 _"I need to go," Akari cut in, her voice thick and wet. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Hinata."_

 _White flames encroached the path around her as she turned and fled, the edges of the scene smoldering and dissolving like edges on a piece of paper paper lit afire. As the dense forest gave way to a black void Masaru stood in silent contemplation, watching Akari's form vanish into the swiftly spreading ring of white flames._

 _"Why did you show me that?" he asked softly. A flash of color flickered in the corner of his eye as the phantom echo of his sister stepping next to him, her ethereal form bright and glowing against the vast nothingness that surrounded them._

 _"Who knows?" she commented lightly, giving a lazy shrug. Strands of brown hair fell in her face as she tilted her head, half hiding the hollowed socket where her right eye should be. "Maybe I'm just worried about her. Nata-chan's always been so sensitive, hasn't she?"_

 _Masaru didn't respond right away, just did his best to ignore the black, black blood oozing down her cheek and drip onto her shirt. "Aren't you mad at her?" he wondered quietly, thoughtfully. "She abandoned you, all because her family told her to."_

 _"Maybe a little, but I don't think I'm that mad at her," Akari mused, extending her hand towards the fire. Wisps of white embers danced towards her, circling her open palm and morphing into a flower. Broad white petals extended from the long oval body, the fringe-like rims flickering and fluttering in an imaginary breeze like wind ruffling feathers, and the tip of the body curled like a bird's beak._

 _The wings fluttered and the bird-flower flew from her hand, gliding towards Masaru. His head turned automatically to follow it as it circled him, his eyes trained on the wispy trail of ghostly embers left in its wake. Without thinking he reached out his hand and the fiery phantom glided towards it, but just as it neared his index finger it vanished, extinguishing itself midair and dissipating into nothingness._

 _"You know what I think?" Akari chirped, drawing his attention, and he turned his head back to her and she_ smiled _. Her lips pulled back to reveal black-stained teeth, her lone eye sparking viciously with death and pain. Chills ran down his spine, his breath catching in his throat at the coldness of her expression._

 _"I think you're more angry at the Hyuuga clan than her."_

Masaru's eyes snapped open with a small gasp caught on his lips, the air tinted pale blue by the early morning light seeping through the fabric. For a moment he felt paralyzed as he stared at the unfamiliar canvas ceiling, panic quickly rising in his chest, but then he heard the rustle of fabric next to him. Rolling his head on its side, he found himself staring at the back of an unfamiliar head of black hair.

 _No, not unfamiliar,_ he realized as the person rolled over. Shikamaru lazily peeked open a single eye, peering at him sleepily. "Masaru?" he mumbled, so soft Masaru couldn't hear, so how did he know what he was saying—"Your eyes're red..."

Blinking, Masaru suddenly noticed the feeling of chakra pooled around his eyes, and after a moment he forced it away. The world slowly lost some of its clarity as he willed the Sharingan to fade, at which point he sat up and buried the heels of his palms against his eyes. "Sorry," he muttered softly. Distantly he heard Shikamaru yawn and sit up, mumbling something indistinct before raising his voice slightly.

"What time's't? the other boy slurred sleepily, and Masaru shrugged, not pulling his hands away. He felt more than heard Shikamaru crawl towards the opening of the tent. "Tch, not even sunrise... What woke you up?"

"Just... a dream." Colors danced behind Masaru's eyelids now, and he pressed a little harder before pulling his hands away. Dreaming of Akari always filled him with such bittersweet feelings, but those feelings had no place on a mission. Pushing off the blankets, he groped blindly for the pile of clothes he'd set out the night before and started peeling off his shirt to change, only to freeze and slowly move his hands away.

"Something wrong?" Shikamaru asked behind him, and Masaru shrugged, offering him a shaky smile.

"Ah, no, I'm just... kinda cold," he lied. "It happens in the morning when I first wake up sometimes, I'll wait a few minutes." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying a word, but after a long moment he finally nodded, much to Masaru's relief.

"Alright. I'm gonna check on the others, it's pretty close to when we're supposed to wake up anyway." With that he crawled out of the tent, and only when the flap fell back into place did Masaru release a slow, shaky breath, peeling off his shirt. He smiled bitterly at the jagged scar cutting through the center of his stomach, small and pink and rough around the edges from where steel had twisted and yanked out.

Some scars held too many bad memories to show anyone.

When he crawled out in a fresh set of clothes he found Sakura crouched next to a smoldering campfire, not surprising since she'd had the last watch. She perked up and waved at him, smiling softly. "I made breakfast," she called quietly, gesturing to a ration bar laying atop its unfolded wrapper, and Masaru smiled as he joined her and picked it up. Missions usually didn't give them leeway for actual food, but sometimes they could roast the ration bars for a warmer breakfast.

Sasuke and Shikamaru soon joined them, the latter having apparently gone off to wake their final member, and the group fell into a companionable silence as they munched on the toasted ration bars. After a few minutes they finished up, and then took a few minutes to pack up their campsite before heading out, hoping to arrive at the town by nightfall. They made some more idle chitchat for a couple hours, before turning their conversation to the mission.

"Sakura should take point when buying the fan," Shikamaru commented. "She can has the most experience with civilians, and she also knows the most about Mito anyway. I get the feeling she'd be the most likely to recognize the fan as real, with some sort of supernatural fangirl instinct or something."

"I'd argue, but you're probably right," Sakura muttered with a pout. The others eyed her warily before silently moving away from her, and she frowned. "Hey, don't look at me like that! I'd recognize it because there were archival photos of Mito with her fans. None of them were in color, but they had pretty distinct patterns that I should be able to recognize."

"That's still kinda creepy," Masaru muttered quietly, and looked away innocently when she glared at him.

"You said there's another objective," Sasuke said to Shikamaru, ignoring the exchange. "The bandits. Tell us about them." Shikamaru sighed, clearly unenthused about the new topic, but nevertheless launched into a brief overview of the situation.

"There's not much information on them. They're pretty small time and usually go after individual travelers or smaller groups, and they keep moving around the country. They also tend to avoid anyone traveling with ninja, even genin." The last bit of information got some raised eyebrows from the others. Bandits usually overestimated their abilities when faced with young genin, so the fact they avoided them anyway suggested one or more of the members had at least _some_ ninja background. Not much, but enough to recognize that even a child could be a threat.

"Interesting," Sasuke said carefully. "Any distinct patterns?"

"Not really," Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "They're smart enough to avoid big targets so they won't get reported to Konoha, and they're constantly moving around instead of staying in one place. The only reason Konoha knows about them is because some victims from two incidents happened to meet while waiting to request an escort and realized the bandits had similar features, and reported it. From there we managed to find similar reports from various areas over the past five years."

" _Five years_?" Sakura repeated, not bothering to hide her shock. "That's—how have they operated that long?" For his part Masaru just gaped at Shikamaru, and even Sasuke seemed a bit stunned by the new information. Most groups tended to disband within a single year because, well, they were thieves. They weren't exactly trustworthy, even within their own ranks.

"Yeah, well, like I said, they're smarter than most. They're quiet enough to avoid becoming high-priority targets, but they're good enough that there's a standing order to catch them if we see them. The most recent reports place them in an area near the town we're heading to, so it wouldn't be a stretch for them to show up there."

Shikamaru shrugged and then fell silent, letting the others stew over this new information. Every word he said only made this group seem even more out of the ordinary. Masaru frowned as he mulled over the information, carefully filing it away. It might not be their primary mission, but catching them would probably be for the better. The rest of the trip proceeded in relative silence after that, only stopping twice to take a break and then to get dinner at a roadside café.

True to their predictions, they arrived at their destination by nightfall, the sun just starting to set in the horizon. The town didn't particularly stand out from other towns Masaru had visited on past missions; it was decently sized, maybe a bit on the small side, and had signs advertising a small shrine that seemed more designed to cater to visitors and locals. Clearly it had been built as a passing point for people traveling to Tea Country, judging by the number of hotels and inns, but otherwise it had no particularly outstanding features to make someone go out of their way to specifically visit it.

Checking into the inn went fine for the most part, aside from a brief squabble with the innkeeper. "So you're here about bandits?" The old innkeeper looked at them in surprise. "You're so young to be hunting bandits down though!"

The group of genin resisted the urge to groan at the old woman's patronizing look. None of them pointed out that Shikamaru happened to be a chuunin, or that Masaru had already killed three men, two of them quite violently. For all their skill and training they were still barely thirteen—hell, Shikamaru would be twelve for another month—and that made them children in the eyes of most civilians.

"We're just gathering information," Sakura assured her smoothly. "The likelihood of us having to actually fight them is very low. Now can you please rent us two rooms?" The elderly matron pursed her lips, peering at them thoughtfully.

"Well, I don't know. The rooms house two people at most, and there's no way to fit an extra bed in one, but splitting you across three rooms seems like such a waste of space. There's a nice young girl staying here alone right now, maybe we can convince her to share with you?"

It took a moment to realize she was talking about how to split the boys from Sakura, making them all groan under their breath. Another annoying civilian quirk... which is what they _would_ have said if they hadn't dealt with that exact issue the previous night. "We'll be fine," Shikamaru offered tightly. "We're professionals, we won't let hormones get in the way." The others grunted, trying their best to look stoic and serious despite the rush of embarrassment flaring in both Masaru _and_ Sakura. They'd already agreed to just have someone take turns sleeping on the floor in the boys' room, but something told them that this woman probably wouldn't approve of that plan either.

Still, the old woman flittered about giving them rooms. "You say that, but you're teenagers. Teenage boys get so worked up around a pretty girl, if any of you share a room—"

"But Sasuke's gay," Masaru interrupted, blinking up at her innocently. "He doesn't like girls."

The others leveled him with stunned looks at the sudden declaration and Sasuke looked slightly homicidal, but Masaru ignored them and kept staring at the old innkeeper with the perfect look of innocence. The elderly woman blinked slowly, the gears in her brain seeming to slowly turn as she processed this, and after a long moment mutely turned around to retrieve two sets of keys.

"Why did you say that?" Sasuke hissed under his breath once they all went upstairs and safely out of earshot.

"Did you want to waste two hours trying to argue with an old lady we won't suddenly have sex with Sakura just because we're unsupervised?" Masaru whispered back, perfectly deadpan, and Shikamaru snorted.

"Yeah, no, too much work," he decided. "This is faster." Sasuke glared at him, but Shikamaru just ignored him.

"It might have worked too well," Sakura whispered with a grimace. "She slipped me a note with directions to a lingerie store and told me to 'show him to the light'." Everyone winced and shuddered at that. Old ladies had a way of killing teenagers' sex drives, even ones that didn't exist.

* * *

When morning rolled around, the group went out to breakfast to discuss their plans for the day. They sat around a table, Sakura and Masaru on one side and Sasuke and Shikamaru on the other. The pink-haired girl eagerly eyed the plate of pancakes the waitress set in front of her, her mouth salivating in anticipation of the sugary goodness, and snatched a bottle of syrup as the others started discussing the bandits. Since the bandit search was meant to be mainly a cover and secondary objective, they made no effort to hide their discussion of it.

"Are there any physical traits we can use to identify them?" Sasuke asked while poking at his scrambled eggs.

"Kind of," Shikamaru hedged. "They usually wear disguises, but there's at least three with consistent descriptions. The two most common are a man in his mid to late twenties with brown hair, tan skin and a cross-shaped scar on his left hand, and a man of similar age with green eyes and a scarf pulled over his head to hide most of his features. Sometimes there's also a man with sunglasses, dark hair and a hood, but not always."

Sakura glanced up from her pancakes at that, still holding the bottle over them to liberally douse them in maple syrup. "Do you think they have a rotating roster?"

"It's pretty likely. These guys are smart enough to move a lot, and know to avoid ninja. The profile put together by Intelligence suggests they probably have another job to supplement it, since they don't go after big groups."

An idea suddenly occurred to Masaru and he groaned loudly, prompting the others to look at him curiously. "Another job, like a traveling merchant caravan?" he suggested wryly, and almost immediately the others groaned in unison.

"Dammit, with our luck that's a good possibility," Sasuke grumbled sullenly. Next to him Shikamaru remained silent, staring intently at his food as he mulled over it.

"It's a good theory, but it's probably not the same one," he finally decided, and speared his omelet with a fork. " _That_ caravan has a known schedule, and it doesn't match up with the confirmed reports we have of these guys. But some sort of migratory job is a pretty likely bet."

"Gives us somewhere to start at least," Sakura offered. "We can ask around if there are any wandering merchants or tradesmen."

"Is it okay if I use part of today to train?" Masaru asked feebly. "I'm not good with people."

"That might be a problem since the whole point of this mission is to talk to people," Shikamaru responded dryly, making Masaru sag dejectedly. Sakura offered him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder while Shikamaru continued, "Sakura, Masaru, you two go ask guests at the hotels if they've encountered any bandits. You can start with the inn we're staying at."

"Sounds good," Sakura agreed lightly, voraciously digging into her pancakes.

"Sasuke, you and I will canvas the local businesses and ask the locals," Shikamaru continued, and the Uchiha grunted in acknowledgment. "It's about eight now so we'll reconvene at the inn in five hours, at one. Any objections?" The others just grunted or shook their heads, too busy eating to respond vocally, and after a moment Shikamaru nodded. "Alright. Let's finish breakfast and roll out."

The others nodded and took their time finishing their meal, splitting up in three opposite directions. It wasn't the most glamorous mission and not even their main objective, but it was a mission.

It didn't take long for Sakura to develop some misgivings though.

"Okay, that was _too_ easy," she mumbled darkly as she and Masaru ascended the stairs, squeezing the handrail as she went up. As per Shikamaru's orders, they'd gone back to the inn and started their investigation by asking the innkeeper. Sakura had not expected the elderly woman to have any knowledge of the bandits, pinning her as the type who'd never left the town, and sure enough she'd been right. But the woman had been more than happy to make a list of the current guests.

The ease she'd given it away made Sakura feel kind of sick. Hotels in or even just near Konoha would _never_ give up that sort of information so easily, it could be disastrous. It wasn't just a shinobi thing, either, it seemed like basic etiquette not to disclose who's staying at a hotel. She sincerely hoped the old woman was an outlier and not the norm in this town, even if it _would_ make their job easier.

"There's four other guests," Masaru commented as he trailed behind her, busy skimming the list. "Room one has a has a honeymooning couple in their twenties, Shigure and Enkomei. Room three has a traveling writer passing through town named Sengawa, middle-aged, but he left earlier this morning. And room four has a single girl, Yuzu, about our age and here while her friends handle some business outside town."

Sakura hummed, considering the options. Sengawa might fit the potential profile of the thieves having some sort of supplementary job, especially since writing usually didn't generate much profit. Technically, the others might qualify too, but a honeymooning couple and a teenage girl sounded like they'd fit the victim profile more. "We'll start with room four," she decided.

"Why not room one?" Masaru asked curiously. "It's closer to the stairs, isn't it?" Sakura paused, twisting her head to offer him a sly smile over her shoulder.

"Yeah, but that's the honeymooners. They're probably sleeping now." Masaru looked at her in confusion, but Sakura didn't bother elaborating and just continued strolling forward. Seeing as the honeymooning couple had an empty room next to them, she figured it was a safe bet that the innkeeper expected them to need a bit more privacy than other guests, for... _reasons_.

Knocking on the door to room four, she stepped back and waited for the girl to answer. Groggy mumbling sounded inside, the words either muffled by the wood or just already generally indistinct, and after a moment heard a voice call, "Hold on, frick." After a few moments the door opened, and a teenage girl peered at them through the crack, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "What do you want?" While she clearly hadn't been in bed, it was obvious she was still getting ready for the day. Her chin-length red hair was messy and only half-brushed, and she'd obviously thrown on a bathrobe at the last second.

"Sorry to disturb you," Sakura said with a small bow. Her eyes briefly lingered on the girl's bright hair before quickly moving to meet her gaze. "We're Leaf ninja investigating reports of a bandit group that's been moving around the country. The latest reports suggest they might be headed near this general area, so we're going around asking people if they've run into them."

"Bandits?" The redhead scoffed. "Sorry, can't help you. The only ones I ran into are dead."

Sakura paused and blinked. Well, that was blunt. "Um. Okay then. Well, have you maybe _heard_ anything?"

"No. Bye." She slammed the door, and for a long moment Sakura and Masaru just stood in silence.

"This is going to be even worse than I thought, isn't it?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Yep," Masaru agreed, popping the 'p'. Sakura just sighed and then turned and stalked back towards room one, her shoulders already slumping.

"Come on, let's go to room one. Just... brace yourself, just in case."

"Brace myself for what?" Masaru asked as he trailed after her, and she smiled thinly as stopped in front of the door.

"You don't want to know," she replied, and knocked. A startled yelp sounded inside, followed by a feminine squeak and the thud of a body crashing to the floor. Her smile grew a little deader as the door flung open to reveal a frazzled looking male wearing no shirt and notably backwards sweatpants.

 _Yep,_ she thought dully as Masaru made a choking noise behind her.

This was going to be a _very_ long day.

* * *

 **(Author's Note)**

Not much to say about this chapter. Lots of interesting little bits of foreshadowing hidden throughout it though... Wonder if any of you picked up on it.

I actually did not plan to leave an A/N here, because I think they clutter the page (especially here on FF, since I can't really figure out a consistent way to make them look _separate_ from the story), but an interesting thing happened: some of the reviews on the last chapter aren't showing up. Maybe it's because I updated the chapter right after posting it to insert the omake (which you should read if you haven't, it's just further proof I have a _very_ dark sense of humor). I know from other people's A/Ns that messing with existing chapters can muck up reviews, it's the main reason I still haven't deleted that A/N about my laptop crashing. (Right now I'm thinking of going back and changing it to just be that promised omake detailing Team Jiraiya's Bell Test.) Luckily I got the reviews in emails though, so I'll just copy and paste them here!

 _Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf: "Ooh, I'm so excited! Mito Uzumaki's war fan? SO AWESOME! Mito is one of my favorite Naruto minor Naruto characters. So I'm super excited. :D_

 _And well, as for how it will go... horribly, as always. Missions always go awry for Team 7. Now add another Uchiha on the list? Yeah, they are screwed. And do I smell a snake perhaps? I mean, two Uchiha is a pretty nice mousey treat."_ \- Well Naruto seemed to account for 90% of the trouble due to main character status, so _maybe_ they'll be fine?

 _Mr. Beaver Buttington: "An easier question would be "how many things WON'T go wrong?""_ \- Well I'm pretty sure the world won't end... probably.

 _May525: "Not really... But I'm hoping they'll meat Fu... Hehe."_ \- Sadly, not yet. They're going in the opposite direction from her. But eventually they will!

For the record, I _love_ reviews, but I usually try to respond to them in PMs rather than post replies in the author's notes to avoid making it seem cluttered. Though out of curiosity, would you guys prefer I respond to reviews in ANs in the future? Just wondering.

Also, one more thing: I have 195 reviews on here now. So as a little mini-contest, **whoever posts Review 200 can get a say in my design of a _very_ special OC**. I can't say anything more without major spoilers, but just know that this OC has a pretty significant impact on the plot, even if their actual role isn't that big. (Also, yes, I do remember the Chuunin Exam prediction contest, but I've been pretty busy and haven't had time to go back and review the predictions.)


	49. Chapter 46: Don't Idolize Jerks

Chapter 46

* * *

 _"You never know what to expect when you meet your idol. They're either everything you imagined and more, or a total jerk. And then you have people who idolize others for BEING jerks, but that's another thing altogether."_

* * *

"You guys look awful," Sasuke commented as they sat at another restaurant for lunch. Masaru groaned mournfully as he sank into his seat, while next to him Sakura just scowled.

"We interrupted two couples _having sex_ ," she hissed through gritted teeth, and the others winced in sympathy. Masaru just gave another low groan, slumping further in his seat. Of all his life experiences so far, _that_ had to be the most uncomfortable. Neither couple had been particularly happy about the interruption, and the second time the man had screamed at _him_ specifically even though Sakura had been the one to knock.

"Well, I made some progress," Shikamaru said after a beat. "One shopkeeper I talked to said one of his workers got robbed last week. He didn't have a description of the bandits though, and the worker in question is busy caring for his sick mother. It could be the guys we're looking for, or it could just be some random guys. Either way, we should probably look into it."

"I found nothing," Sasuke declared flatly. "A lot of locals have never left this town."

"Well, we found some other victims," Sakura allowed, and Masaru straightened from his slump to pull out a small stack of papers, shuffling through him.

"An old man at the White Orchid Inn said he saw a guy matching the description of the guy with the red scarf," he started, glancing at the page, "but that was two or three months ago and he can't remember where it happened. Then at the Aoi Inn," he shuffled to another page, "a fisherman reported getting jumped on the way here, but none of the bandits matched the description."

"...That's not your handwriting," Sasuke observed, squinting at the papers. "Or Sakura's."

"We know," Sakura replied tightly, and Masaru discreetly scooted his chair further from her. The local innkeepers had been far too generous with information on guests for her liking, though to be fair he had a feeling the last few had given it more out of intimidation than carelessness. Having a pink-haired girl radiate mild killing intent as she asked about the guest list in a too-calm voice probably freaked people out.

"...Troublesome," Shikamaru declared flatly, and everyone else grunted in agreement.

The rest of the afternoon passed without any significant breakthroughs. They spent most of the day just looking for more leads and talking to witnesses about recent bandit attacks, and returned to the inn around dinnertime to run into Sengawa, the writer. They took one look at his missing arm, the stump too clean and smooth to be anything but natural, and silently struck him from the suspect list.

"Anyone else get the feeling this is going to be a recurring theme?" Sakura grumbled sullenly as they mounted the stairs.

"Probably," Sasuke agreed dryly behind her. The group heaved a large sigh of frustration, and had just passed the door to room four when it opened.

"Hey, you!" Yuzu called, and the group turned to look at the redhead in mild surprise. She looked slightly different from that morning, now wearing actual clothes and a pair of glasses, though her hair still looked only half-brushed. "You're Leaf ninja, right?"

Shikamaru turned to face her fully, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

"You should go to the Three Sparrows Bar," she replied simply. "You'll find something... _interesting_ there." With that she slammed the door shut, leaving them to stand in silence for a long moment.

"...Does anyone else think that sounds like a trap?" Masaru asked dryly.

"She opened that door with convenient timing," Sasuke muttered, his own way of agreeing. They'd been walking pretty silently at that point, so she would have to be either listening at the door or had some other way to notice them.

Shikamaru just frowned, his eyes glinting as he analyzed the situation. "Sakura, with me," he finally said, pitching his voice low. "Sasuke, Masaru, you two follow at a distance." The others swiveled their heads to stare at him in surprise.

"Wait, seriously?" Sakura blurted, and then slapped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes darted around the hallway nervously in search of potential eavesdroppers, and she lowered her voice to a hiss, "But, it could be a trap!"

"Yeah, but it's a lead," Shikamaru replied with a shrug. "And we don't exactly have anything else to go on right now." The others frowned but offered no objections, because he had a point. After determining they wouldn't protest, he continued, "Sakura, you and I have skillsets more useful for entering a trap, and we're more likely to be underestimated. We'll go in and scout the situation. Sasuke, Masaru, you two are our strongest fighters. If it _is_ a trap, I want you guys somewhere safe but nearby so you can intervene. If we're not out in three minutes, you come in and save us."

Masaru frowned as he listened, and a glance at the others revealed they likely felt just as hesitant about the plan, but after a few moments he sighed. "Alright, fine."

"Wait, you're actually agreeing?" Sakura asked, whirling to stare at him in shock. Even Sasuke seemed surprised, but Masaru just shrugged.

"Shikamaru's mission lead. And he's a Nara. He knows what he's doing." Shikamaru looked surprised at the comment and frowned slightly, but didn't comment on it. After a few moments the others hesitantly nodded their assent, and turned back to Shikamaru.

"Alright, let's go."

Five minutes later Masaru and Sasuke perched atop the roof of a two-story cafe across the road from the Three Sparrows Bar, watching Shikamaru and Sakura head through the front door. The bar in question didn't look particularly shady; the street housing it was pretty decent, not exactly wealthy but definitely not the poor part of town. A not-insignificant amount of people still milled about the street, having late dinners in nearby restaurants or doing some last-minute shopping.

All in all, not exactly the kind of area you'd expect an ambush in.

"It's been two minutes," Sasuke muttered. "One more minute, and we're going in." Masaru just nodded, his eyes shifting to red as he stared at the entrance intently. The late evening light cast a lot of shadows on the street, which made the lights inside the bar seem all that brighter and thus made it harder to see into the windows, but the Sharingan helped negate that issue. He could see Shikamaru towards the edge of one window, head turned to the side likely talking to Sakura who remained out of sight.

His shoulders suddenly stiffened, so minutely Masaru would have missed it without his Sharingan, and a glance at Sasuke revealed him to be watching just as intently. The pair had tensed and prepared to leap down when Shikamaru suddenly turned and walked back to the door, soon stepping out and giving a lazy wave. Wary now, the two Uchiha leaped to the ground and strode towards him.

"Anyone ever tell you guys the Sharingan glows in the dark?" Shikamaru remarked blandly when they got closer. "Not that good for stealth."

"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke pressed, ignoring the comment, and Shikamaru sighed.

"Oi, calm down, your girlfriend's fine," he drawled, and Sasuke physically recoiled.

" _Girlfriend_?" Had he been anyone else he'd probably be blushing or embarrassed, but since this was _Sasuke_ , he just blanched and sputtered, "What—no! She's not—"

"Oh, joy, now we can tell the innkeeper you're cured," Masaru deadpanned. His cousin just turned to glare at him, his annoyance made especially intimidating with the spinning tomoe of his still-active Sharingan. Masaru just smiled pleasantly back at him, Sharingan still in place, and Sasuke flinched and quickly looked back to Shikamaru.

"What's going on in there?" he demanded, and the Nara sighed.

"This mission just got a lot more troublesome, that's what."

* * *

It went like this.

Sakura and Shikamaru entered the bar on full guard, each one secretly palming some of Sakura's poison-tipped senbon in full expectation of an ambush. But when they stepped inside, no shadowy men descended upon them from the ceilings. No shady thug waited by the door to slam and lock it behind them as a cue for everyone else to stand up. No assortment of sleazy crooks sat at either the tables or the counter, ready to leap into action.

Instead, they found a bar with an assortment of totally average civilians getting sloshed and a grizzled-looking bartender who did a double-take before blurting, "Oi, I don't care if you're ninja, I ain't serving kids here!"

Needless to say, it took all of five seconds to determine this _probably_ wasn't some kind of ambush.

Still, _probably_ did not count as _definitely_ , so they proceeded into the bar cautiously, Shikamaru taking care to stay close to the window so he'd be in the Uchiha boys' line of sight while discreetly assessing the other patrons. While shinobi _could_ disguise themselves pretty well, most of the people here looked like regular civilians. Then he heard Sakura give a small gasp, and looked at her to see her staring wide-eyed at a pair of women in the back corner.

One of the women sat half-turned and frozen, staring at them with wide eyes. The other one was slumped over a bottle of sake and seemed to be inhaling the alcoholic beverage. Shikamaru took one look at her blond hair, and the purple diamond on her forehead, and then quickly tied it to one of the photos his dad had showed him.

Against all odds, they had somehow stumbled upon Senju Tsunade.

In the present, the others followed Shikamaru inside after getting a brief background on Tsunade to find Sakura buzzing around the woman's table. Masaru winced slightly as he watched the pink-haired girl ramble on, recognizing the fan-girl gleam in her eyes. Naturally, both women looked very disoriented by her presence.

"It's like watching her with Anko," Sasuke whispered in mild horror.

"Who's Anko?" Masaru whispered back, and the others both turned to him with matching looks of surprise and... envy?

"It's better you don't know," Shikamaru replied flatly, and sighed. "Sakura's not gonna let us leave without trying to convince her to come back, is she?"

"Probably," Sasuke agreed dryly, and Shikamaru grumbled under his breath. Masaru just remained silent, looking at the blond woman intently. Something about her seemed oddly... familiar. But at the same time, also _not_? It felt weird. He didn't recognize her _face_ exactly, like from a photo or a memory, but even so her features pulled at his memory for some reason.

While he puzzled over this, the woman appeared to get over her initial shock at being accosted by a random fangirl, her face twisting into an ugly scowl. "Beat it, brat. I'm done being a shinobi."

"But Konoha needs you!" Sakura protested. "I know they rejected your proposal before, but right now our medical program is a mess and there's no one more qualified to fix it than you!"

"I don't give a shit if there was an invasion, or how screwed up the hospital is. I have no intention of going back to Konoha, _ever_. And word of advice, kid, you should quit now too," she added, and Sakura recoiled as if slapped.

"Wh-what?" she stammered, her eyes wide.

"Lady Tsunade!" The other woman shot her a horrified look but Tsunade ignored her, her lips pulling back in a cold smirk as she leered at Sakura with open disdain.

"I can tell just by looking at your eyes," she began, her voice low and venomous. "You're so bright and innocent, you've spent the past twelve years living in a bubble, safe and protected from the world. Maybe you've seen some stuff, but you still haven't experienced any _real_ loss. This career isn't meant for optimists like you. The world will tear you apart and spit you back out in pieces."

Sakura didn't respond, just stared at her wide-eyed in shock. The others stood in absolute silence, stunned by the older woman's cold and immediate dismissal; even Tsunade's companion seemed shocked by it, her mouth opening and closing a few times as she stared at her. For her part, Tsunade ignored them and just picked up her bottle to take another long chug.

The crash of it hitting the floor and shattering was more satisfying than it should have been.

Instant silence filled the bar as the other patrons turned to look at the source of the crash. "What the hell?" Tsunade snapped at Sasuke, sharply rising from her seat as she slammed her now-empty hands against the table. He'd moved so fast the others almost missed it, only able to see a blue blur zoom forward and slap it out of her hand to the floor.

"Don't you _dare_ talk to my teammate like that," he growled, his eyes flickering red as he glared at her. Most people would at least flinch at the sight of the Sharingan, but to her credit Tsunade just glared harder, her bronze eyes flickering with rage.

"Screw off! I don't need to listen to brats!"

Sasuke's scowl darkened further, obviously not liking her tone of voice, so Masaru decided he should probably intervene. "Guys?" he cut in, stepping forward with a pleasant smile. "Can you please stop making a scene in the middle of this nice bar before we're all kicked out?" His eyes bled red as his own Sharingan activated, his pleasant smile growing even sunnier.

His heightened perception didn't miss how Sasuke flinched at his smile and Sakura blanched, or how the other woman gave a small start in her seat. However, Tsunade didn't do any of those. She just stared at him for a few seconds, her eyes widening marginally for a fraction of a second before her glare grew even harsher. "Fuck off!" she snarled, and then stomped past him to the door, her shoulder harshly bumping against him and sending him staggering to the side as she stalked past. Her companion lingered in her seat for a second, still staring at Masaru, before suddenly jumping to her feet to race after her companion.

As the pair departed Masaru blinked and let his eyes return to normal, watching them in surprise. Huh. That was... weirdly more effective than he expected.

A tense silence descended over the bar, and after a long moment the bartender loudly cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but—"

"We get it, we're going," Shikamaru interrupted dryly, and gestured for the others to follow him. Their footsteps seemed to echo in the sudden silence that had descended over the bar, and only after they stepped outside did they hear whispers start behind them. Masaru exhaled a deep, shaky breath, and then looked at the others with a frown. Sasuke glowered at nothing with one of his most severe scowls to date, but next to him Sakura still looked shell-shocked, her face notably pale as she stared at her feet.

"Are you okay?" he asked, and she blinked once before slowly shaking her head.

"I'm—I'm fine," she replied. "Just—surprised, I guess. I mean, I've kinda idolized her since I was a kid, so..." She trailed off and shrugged feebly, not looking at them.

"Maybe you should find a new idol then," Shikamaru commented wryly, while Sasuke's scowl deepened.

"Don't listen to her," he ordered her briskly. "She has no idea what she's talking about. You're probably the most competent kunoichi from our class." Masaru nearly did a double-take at the statement and even Shikamaru gave a small start. Sasuke _never_ praised or complimented others, not even Masaru, so to hear him openly compliment Sakura naturally caught them off-guard. Sakura looked just as surprised, but then her face lit up and Sasuke flinched, clearly recognizing his mistake.

However, just as quickly as the fan-girl sparkles appeared they vanished, her shoulders drooping as she offered a small, feeble smile. "Thanks, Sasuke-kun," she said, and then turned and started walking back to the hotel. The others frowned as they exchanged looks, not impressed with her sudden attitude change.

Clearly, her encounter with Tsunade had impacted her more than they thought.

* * *

The next morning, after waking up to find Sakura's room empty save for a note promising to show up for breakfast, the trio of boys went to the café and waited a good fifteen minutes before she appeared. The table shook as she slapped a colorful flyer down, sliding it into the center of the plates and silverware.

"There's a poker tournament being held here in three days," she announced briskly. "The prize is one hundred thousand ryo. I'll bet you my hitai-ate that Tsunade plans to stick around for it."

The others regarded her with varying levels of surprise before glancing at the flyer curiously. The tournament seemed to be geared more towards locals, held at a local bar, and didn't seem particularly special. One hundred thousand ryo didn't seem that glamorous as far as prizes could go—Masaru remembered seeing posters advertising prizes of up to one million ryo while passing through towns on the escort missions before the Chuunin Exams—but it would definitely catch some people's attention.

For all her skill and accomplishments as a shinobi, most civilians would probably forever know Tsunade first and foremost as the Legendary Sucker. She'd always had a notorious penchant for gambling, and after leaving Konoha she dove into her hobby head-on despite her notorious bad luck. Even though she'd almost certainly lose the tournament, it would be a safe bet to expect her to appear.

"Great, so we have to avoid her for the next three days," Masaru grumbled sullenly, sucking on a forkful of pancakes. Sakura shook her head, her eyes burning with firm resolve.

"No. We're going to get her to come back to Konoha."

The clatter of silverware falling to their plates echoed loudly in the stunned silence. "What?" Sasuke asked tightly.

"Konoha needs Tsunade more than ever," Sakura declared firmly. "I just spent two weeks volunteering at the hospital doing grunt work, and they're so overwhelmed from all the casualties from the invasion it's a miracle no one has died from neglect yet. Some of the staff there _still_ hadn't gone home by the time my term ended, they just slept in the break room. We _need_ to fix the system and make it more efficient, and Tsunade is the single person most equipped to fix it."

Sasuke's lips curled back in a displeased scowl. "Seriously? You heard her last night, she's not interested."

"As Leaf shinobi it's our duty to try to bring her back anyway!" she argued. "The village needs her right now more than ever! If we have even a _slight_ chance of convincing her to come back—"

"We _have_ a mission!" Sasuke interrupted hotly. "We need to find those bandits!"

"But that's not the primary objective!" she countered, glaring at him. "We can change the objective if something more pressing comes up!" As she spoke Masaru frowned in thought. Technically, Sakura had a point; the search for the bandits was just a way to pass the time until the merchant caravan arrived with their _real_ objective, the mysterious tessen. He glanced at Shikamaru curiously, but the other boy had already turned his attention back to his food. Clearly he did not want to get involved just yet.

"We have at least one report of a bandit attack near here! That's more solid than trying to convince some stupid woman to come back to a village she obviously doesn't like!" Sakura scowled, crossing her arms with a huff.

"We don't have any evidence they're even the group we're looking for. And you know that we'd look _much_ better if we convince one of the Legendary Sannin to come back home than just beating up some random bandit group!"

" _She told you to stop being a shinobi!_ " Sasuke roared, slamming his hands onto the table with enough force to shake the plates. The others at the table flinched, acutely aware of the sudden silence that descended upon the previously bustling café at the sudden shout. For her part Sakura flinched, pain briefly flashing across her face before she quickly averted her gaze with a small frown.

"What she said last night hurt, I won't deny that," she admitted lowly, her words tight and careful. "But that doesn't change the fact that Konoha needs all the help it can get right now. All this means is that I'll just have to prove her wrong myself." Frown deepening, she turned to Shikamaru with hardened eyes. "Shikamaru, you're mission lead. It's your call."

No longer able to stay out of the debate, Shikamaru sighed and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms as he tipped his head back. "We don't have proof the bandits are actually around here, and convincing Tsunade to return would definitely make up for it. We've got four people so it's not like we'd be short-handed if one of us left. If you think you might have a chance at getting through to her, there's no reason for me to object."

The fact he approved at all caught Masaru by surprise and Sasuke's scowl darkened even more, but Sakura just nodded. "Good. Since I have your permission I'll start now. Good luck with the bandit hunt." With a final glance at her glowering teammate, Sakura spun on her heel and stalked out, ignoring the curious gazes of the patrons she passed. A few seconds after she left Sasuke roughly shoved his chair back and stood up, visibly grinding his teeth.

"I'm going to look into more leads," he announced, and then stomped off without another word. Tense silence filled the café as the door closed behind him, but after a few moments the other diners slowly resumed conversation, their tones more hushed than before. Masaru wilted in his seat with a sigh, hanging his head.

"Troublesome," he muttered dryly, and was rewarded with a snort from his Nara commander.

"That's my line," Shikamaru deadpanned, and then sighed as he pushed his plate away. "Come on, I don't think either of us are in the mood to finish after that. Let's just get out of here."

"Time to look for more leads?" Masaru guessed as they rose and headed to the door, but the other boy just shrugged lazily, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Nah. I figure we should get to work on something actually productive." Masaru paused, looking at him curiously, but remained silent as he followed him.

It turned out that "productive" meant training, or at least Masaru trained while Shikamaru just stared at the clouds. Flames danced around his outstretched hand as he sat cross-legged in the center of the forest clearing they'd found well away from any trees, watching the flickering blaze intently. It took a lot of concentration to keep its size and shape consistent, and so far he'd been holding the special fireball for Foxfire for six minutes without it fading or shrinking. He planned to try to maintain it for a full ten minutes before taking a break.

Hardly glamorous training, but then, most training tended to be pretty tedious.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Shikamaru decided to up the difficulty by starting a conversation, forcing him to split his attention. "So, are those two always like that?"

"At each other's throats?" Masaru asked to clarify, and didn't bother looking for Shikamaru's response before shrugging the shoulder _not_ attached to the hand currently covered in fire. "Sort of. Usually that's more Sasuke and Naruto's area, or Sakura and Naruto. Sakura doesn't really talk against Sasuke much because of the fan-girl thing." From what he'd seen Sakura might be scarily competent and usually able to control herself, but at the end of the day she still had a raging crush on his cousin that lent her a strong bias towards him.

He heard Shikamaru loudly sigh. "Figures. Ino said Sakura has a shrine to Tsunade in her room, so I guess she idolizes her enough to overpower the crush." Masaru paused at that, glancing at him curiously.

"A shrine?"

"That's how Ino described it," Shikamaru said with a lazy shrug. "I never really dug into it, for obvious reasons. Anyways, they're both stubborn so at this rate we might have to dig into the mission funds to get a room at another inn. I don't think it's a good idea for them to stay together."

Masaru just hummed noncommittally, looking back to the fire. "Is it really a good idea for us to just ignore the bandits, though?" he asked, changing the subject. "I mean, not to complain about the chance to train, and it's not our main objective, but shouldn't we be looking into leads?"

"There's no point," Shikamaru responded absently, and Masaru frowned.

"But it's the secondary objective. That's pretty important, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but the last sighting was near Hot Water Country."

Shikamaru's response sounded so casual and nonchalant it took a moment for Masaru to process it, and when he did his concentration went to hell, the fireball fizzling out with a _whoosh_ as he whirled to stare at Shikamaru. "What." Hot Water was in the northeast. The _opposite_ direction of their current location. " _What?_ "

He nearly fell back in shock, yelping in alarm. "Wait, what the hell?!" he blurted. "Why are we down here then!?" Shikamaru remained unmoved by his distress, not even bothering to sit up as he kept staring at the sky.

"I don't know the full details, but the Hokage wanted you guys out of town for at least a week while taking care of some loose ends." His eyes slid towards Masaru, blank yet gleaming with scrutiny. "Apparently Gaara kept asking to meet with you specifically."

Masaru didn't respond to that, just slumped forward and stared at the grass wide-eyed as he processed the new information. Gaara wanted to talk to him. Gaara, who'd crushed three men with his sand without batting an eye. Gaara, who scared his own siblings and wanted his cousin's blood. Gaara, who'd screamed that his mother killed Akari and laughed about love being twisted even as he turned into a monster.

"Oh," he said feebly, and lapsed into silence. After a while he heard Shikamaru sigh and finally sit up to look at him.

"I'm only telling you because at this point you're the most level-headed one on this mission, and I think you have a right to know. I have no idea what the hell went down back in the invasion, but I can piece together enough to figure out it's better for you to stay as far away from that guy as possible."

"Thanks, I guess," Masaru mumbled, and then sighed. "Some C-rank. Your first mission as chuunin and it's basically a glorified babysitting job."

Shikamaru snorted at that. "Ugh, don't even compare it to those missions. I had enough of those as a genin. The bit about the tessen is at least real, so it's not a _total_ waste of time. The only reason I agreed to let Sakura go after Tsunade is because I know the bandits are a dead-end and getting her back would be good."

"So you agree with her?" Masaru asked softly, raising his eyes to look at Shikamaru.

"Hard not to," he replied. "Sakura was right about everything she said. I don't know why Tsunade left, but I've heard enough about her from my dad to know we'd be better off with her back in the village." Pausing, he glanced at Masaru and asked, "What about you? Are you on Sasuke's side?"

"Honestly, I don't... really have an opinion." Masaru frowned, pulling his knees to his chest. Something about the blonde woman still felt strangely familiar, but even so that didn't change the fact he didn't know anything about her. All he knew was that she seemed cold and jaded, at least by her rant to Sakura.

A tear-stained face crossed his mind, eyes red and puffy as trails of black trickled down painted cheeks and a shrill wail rang through air.

" _Shinobi are no good! All you do is_ die _and leave everyone alone!_ "

He grimaced and pulled his legs closer, his eyes pinching shut as his fingers dug into the fabric of his pants. _No. Stop thinking about them._ "How'd your first C-rank go?" he asked tightly, forcing the words out. His voice sounded strained even to his own ears, the topic change overly blatant, and he had no doubt Shikamaru noticed it. Opening one eye, he found the other boy peering at him closely, his gaze searching, but after a long moment he leaned back with a large sigh.

"Seriously?" he grumbled, scratching his head. "Man, don't get me started on it. We had to deliver this stupid ridiculously heavy box to some old temple..."

As Shikamaru unfolded the tale of his team's introduction to C-ranks Masaru slowly let himself relax, allowing the story to draw him in. It wasn't nearly as exciting and chaotic as Team Seven's adventure, but it was better than his own thoughts right now, and he let himself get immersed in it. It was something, and that alone lifted his mood somewhat.

However, any increase to his mood faded when they returned to the inn later that night and found Sasuke staring at a note from Sakura stating she'd be staying at the same inn as Tsunade.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Sorry for the mess, this chapter was made by merging two that didn't feel particularly eventful on their own. More plot bunnies are coming together, and it looks like I'm doing the Tsunade arc. Sort of. There are a _lot_ of twists coming up despite how short this arc is. Actually, remember the Invasion arc contest? Let's do that again! **If you can predict the events of this arc, I'll feature a brief cameo of an OC designed by you!** And by "brief cameo", I mean "probably appears for one chapter in Masaru's Chuunin Exams and fails/dies before getting to really do anything". On that note, Chapter 47 ends on a cliffhanger with the first MAJOR twist, and Chapter 48 has a related but equally large one, so chances are any predictions made after those chapters won't be very impressive. So you might want to make a prediction before that.

Which brings me to some bad news: **I'm going to change my update schedule to every other week**. This semester I'm in a game development class, and my pitch was one of the ideas selected for a class project! So excited! Since it was my idea I'm team lead, so I'm going to be pretty busy this semester. That said, I'm also getting my wisdom teeth extracted on Thursday, March 8, **so the next update will be on Wednesday, March 7th**.

That said, this Saturday I'll also be posting the first chapter of the Mist SI/OC fic. Kind of weird when I'm so busy, but I have a lot of muse for it and the story is a lot looser than Echoes of Light, so it's not as time-consuming to write/plot. The updates will be more sporadic than this one, but I really enjoy the main character. I'm leaning towards "I'm Not Selling Misery" for the title, taken from the song Nameless World by Skip the Use, so be on the lookout for that!


	50. Chapter 47: A Bit Lonely

Chapter 47

* * *

 _"Dealing with people is hard. Sometimes, I wonder why I even try, I've always been more of an introvert. But when I think of running away from it all and living on my own, it feels just a bit lonely."  
_

* * *

"Okay, the final check is good," Jiraiya announced grandly. "Seal's still insane and impossible to understand, but it's stable so we'll just have to assume that it's good. You're good to go kid." Gaara just nodded mutely, pulling on his shirt, while Baki glared at the sage grimly.

"Your assessment hardly inspires confidence," he remarked dryly, and Jiraiya chuckled, flashing him a sly grin.

"In my defense, I'm pretty sure even _Mito_ wouldn't understand it," he countered as he started packing his supplies, rolling his eyes. After three days of travel they'd reached the border of Fire Country and River, where the Suna delegation would continue onwards to Wind alone, and naturally he'd wanted to give Gaara's seal a final examination. The hotel room hardly fit his criteria for an ideal examination room, but he could at least do a cursory inspection. At this point he had absolutely given up on understanding how the thing stayed stable and just chalked it up to magic.

He paused in his packing, his mouth quirking into a smile. "Ah, right, one last thing," he said, walking to the door. When he yanked it open it a certain blond nearly fell into the hotel room, yelping as he stumbled forward to regain his balance. The Sannin couldn't help but smirk at the new arrival, crossing his arms. "You know, gaki, it's rude to eavesdrop," he teased, and Naruto shot him an annoyed glare.

"Oh, can it already, Pervy Sage!" he grumbled. Jiraiya's eye twitched as he heard Baki quietly snort in amusement at the moniker, making him grind his teeth in irritation.

"That little nickname better not become a regular thing," he growled.

"But it fits," Naruto retorted blandly, folding his arms over his chest with a defiant glare. "Even Sakura-chan says so!" While Jiraiya sputtered in indignation Naruto turned his attention to Gaara, his expression quickly sobering.

"Hey," he greeted quietly, offering a small smile. "So... did it go okay?" Concern visibly flickered in his bright blue eyes as he spoke, his voice unusually quiet, and Gaara seemed taken aback by it. Jiraiya felt a pang of sympathy for the boy, figuring he'd had minimal exposure to any sort of kindness.

"I am... fine," the redhead replied, haltingly. "Apparently." Relief flooded Naruto's face and his shoulders sagged tiredly as he sighed.

"Oh, good. I was really worried." Once again Gaara looked mildly stunned, and Jiraiya couldn't help but smirk fondly.

"Hey, Naruto, why don't you and Gaara go grab breakfast real fast?" he suggested. "I need to talk to Baki here about some boring stuff, and there's a place just across the street so you might as well go grab something." Naruto lit up instantly, breaking into a giant grin as he bobbed his head.

"Alright! Come on Gaara, let's go!" He reached for Gaara to grab his arm only for the sand to block him. Startled, he pouted at the sand but quickly recovered his cheery demeanor as he gestured wildly to the door. "C'mon, I saw some people eating these really fluffy things there this morning! I don't know what they're called but they smell awesome! Well, not as awesome as ramen, but..."

Still startled by his blindingly bright enthusiasm, Gaara shot Baki an almost helpless look as if asking for help. The Sand jounin's lips quirked in a small smile as he made a shooing motion with his hand, and with some mild hesitation Gaara trailed out the door to follow the still-rambling Naruto. Once the door closed the two jounin quickly grew serious again, the atmosphere in the room changing almost instantly.

"Do you really think it's wise to leave them unsupervised?" Baki asked.

"Honestly? I'm not sure," Jiraiya admitted. "I'm still not sure how Gaara will act once the shock wears off, it's hard to say how much of that bloodlust came from the tanuki. On that note, you need to do something about how he's treated there," he added with a frown. "Gaara's seal is precarious and I'm not sure what could set it off. You know Tailed Beasts will look for any weaknesses in a host's emotional state, so it would be best to create a stable environment for him _before_ the shock wears off."

"The new Kazekage has already taken measures in that regard," Baki replied primly. "She sent a list of some of her planned changes in her last communication so that we can be ready." He didn't elaborate on what those planned changes included, and Jiraiya didn't see a need to ask. In the end the specifics weren't any of his business.

"Just remember, he's your responsibility now," he reminded Baki with a careful look. "I've done everything I can. If that seal breaks, it's on Suna, not us." The other man just nodded, his mouth a grim line.

"We know."

* * *

Sasuke was brooding.

He had been brooding since coming back the previous night.

He had been brooding all through his stiff report on his findings.

He had been brooding all through breakfast.

He was brooding all the way up to _locating the local bandit group and prepping an assault on them_.

Masaru wanted to groan as he crouched alongside his ever-emo cousin and their lazy mission lead near a small grove of trees outside the town's borders. A large, crudely drawn map was spread on the dirt between them and held open with large stones on each corner. Its accuracy was debatable, since Shikamaru had designed it based on the smaller and equally crude map Sasuke had drawn up after talking to locals and some anecdotes about the local landscape, but it would serve their purposes.

"The most logical locations for the bandits' base would probably be around here," he stated, placing a polished-looking white stone on a circled area a brief distance away from the town with some rough sketches of rocks. "Based on what the locals told me, there's a cave around there that would be an ideal location for a hidden base."

"Wouldn't that be obvious?" Masaru questioned with a mild frown. "This area doesn't really seem like the kind of terrain to have a lot of caves. It'd be the first place they'd think to look."

"Not as much as you'd think," Shikamaru dismissed. "The area the cave's in is pretty far off the main road, and from what I'm told the entrance is mostly concealed by a thick bush. Most of the locals don't have any reason to leave the town, and travelers obviously have even less reasons to go exploring the forest. Only a handful of people know about it."

"What's the plan?" Sasuke asked. "Torch the place?" His brooding had started to taper off in favor of deep irritation with the world, which manifested when he spoke to give his inflectionless voice an undercurrent of low-key blood lust. Masaru shuddered slightly, feeling a slight ping of pity for the bandits and a small modicum of worry for his cousin's mental state. Next to him Shikamaru's eyes narrowed.

"Have you killed anyone yet?" he asked critically, and Sasuke's jaw set in a tight line in answer. "Thought not. In any case, we're not going for lethal methods. We want this group _alive_ to answer questions, and beside that, I don't think the Hokage would be happy if we burned up all the stolen goods while apprehending them."

Sasuke's lips pressed together tightly but he gave a single nod, and Masaru frowned slightly, able to figure out his cousin's thoughts. In this situation Sakura would have been invaluable with her collection of paralytics. Emotional objections to murder notwithstanding, nonlethal captures tended to require more effort than simply killing, since they could still fight back. Bandits probably wouldn't pose _too_ much of a problem, but this still would have been much faster and easier with Sakura.

"So strict taijutsu with a ban on fire ninjutsu?" he asked, trying to distract Sasuke from his brooding. Shikamaru grunted, closing his eyes in thought.

"You can use Foxfire if we get overwhelmed and you think you can control it," he decided. "But no throwing around giant fireballs. Taijutsu first, and _then_ flashy jutsu."

In the end, they didn't need it.

True to Shikamaru's prediction they found the bandits hiding exactly where he'd thought it would be. It took some stumbling to find it since the map hadn't been perfectly accurate, but once they found it they just had to toss a kunai with an exploding tag tied to the handle at a nearby tree, and soon enough men swarmed out of the cave to investigate the sudden explosion. From there the fight had been so easy it bore no value recounting.

" _That_ was a waste of time," Sasuke grumbled as they left the police station not even an hour later, having turned in their prisoners.

"You're not the one who has to file the extra paperwork," Shikamaru sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Tch, this is so annoying." Masaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes and make some sort of sarcastic quip. After learning the true purpose behind the mission he'd been surprised that Shikamaru had still insisted on investigating the leads Sasuke found. Hunting an extra group of bandits seemed like more effort than he'd like after all, given his usual lazy demeanor.

Then again, he supposed investigating bandits _was_ technically part of their cover with the locals, so it would be weird if they didn't investigate it. Besides, some results would probably be better than none.

Alternatively, they might just be making excuses to _not_ have to tell Sasuke the truth.

So far neither of them had seen fit to inform Sasuke of the mission's _actual_ reasoning. They hadn't discussed it so Masaru couldn't speak for Shikamaru's motives, but in his case just didn't see it as a good idea. Ever since Sakura ran off to follow Tsunade, Sasuke had been in an increasingly volatile mood. Finding out their mission's secondary "objective" was a sham after spending an entire day on it probably wouldn't go over well. As in, he might actually kill something in frustration.

Although, Masaru didn't really need to think on it much now. He had more urgent priorities, namely... "Does anyone else notice that?" he whispered, and Shikamaru snorted softly.

"You mean the girl hiding behind the lamppost?" he asked rhetorically, pitching his voice low so she couldn't hear. "Hard not to." The redheaded girl from the hotel—Yuzu, right?—had been following them since shortly after they returned to town, and it was starting to sort of creep Masaru out.

Sasuke's posture _screamed_ annoyance. "She followed me yesterday," he informed them bluntly. "She's ridiculously hard to lose for a civilian." The others paused to consider the new information.

"So basically, a fan girl," Shikamaru declared flatly, and Sasuke winced and growled under his breath in irritation.

"She better not be," he grumbled, and Masaru offered him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before glancing at Shikamaru. A faint mischievous gleam appeared in the other boy's eye, his mouth twitching into a lazy smirk, and it took only a few seconds for Masaru to catch onto what he was thinking.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Shikamaru offered nonchalantly, and with that both he and Masaru fled the scene in a blur of movement, leaving Sasuke to fend for himself. Masaru snickered as he bounced across rooftops and landed a couple streets over, strolling along at a sedate pace. Abandoning Sasuke to the whims of a potential fan girl felt a bit cruel, but he didn't feel particularly inclined to deal with his cousin's broody and surly mood for too long. Yuzu could have him all to herself.

* * *

Day four of the mission started with breakfast at the usual location, and Sasuke ate in noticeably tense silence. By this point it had probably become obvious to him that their supposed quarry wasn't in the vicinity, but Masaru saw no reason to confirm it aloud. After breakfast they dispersed in silence, and Masaru decided to do some shopping with his share of the reward for the bandits.

"Kinda low though," he mumbled to himself as he turned his attention to the small wad of ryo he'd received. The bandit group had yet to acquire enough notoriety to merit a formal bounty, but the police had given them a light reward for their work anyway. After splitting it the payout barely amounted to little more than a D-rank. Taking down the bandits had been laughably easy though so he supposed it evened out. Seriously, the guys who attacked Fu had been more of a challenge.

Speaking of Fu, he wondered if he should get her something. Shibuki would have likely arrived back at Taki by now, and with him so would his letter to Fu. Earlier he'd asked Shikamaru how long it would take for a letter to arrive from Taki and after getting a blank had been told about two weeks if delivered by foot, so her reply would probably be waiting in Konoha by the time they returned.

But if he was going to get Fu something, then maybe he should get something for Naruto too? He'd already be disappointed at being left out of the mission, and if he found out Masaru got something for a girl he'd only met _once_ —

Nope. He didn't want to think about it.

He hummed in thought in as he looked into the window of a toy store, eying a trio of stuffed kittens in a basket that reminded him of his mom's summons. While debating on whether or not it would be too childish for Naruto (he got the feeling Fu would probably leap for joy), he noticed a door to another business open in his peripheral vision and gave a small start when he saw Tsunade stalk outside.

The female Sannin looked even more intimidating than he remembered. She walked with her head held high, the dark-haired woman trailing behind her with a slightly resigned and downfallen look. Then behind her came Sakura, holding—

"Is that a pig?" The question slipped out before he could realize it, and the trio turned to face him with varying degrees of surprise. Tsunade scowled almost instantly upon seeing him while her companion winced, but Sakura gave a small start before beaming at him.

"Masaru! Hey! Meet Tonton!" She lifted the pig up higher, and it gave a small oink while he stared at it.

"Um, hi Tonton," he greeted awkwardly. Tonton oinked at him again, wiggling in Sakura's arms. He _almost_ asked " _Is that pig wearing a pearl necklace?_ " but managed to quash it before it could slip out because the answer was obviously yes. He considered revising it to start with " _why_ ," but after glancing at the two older woman and seeing Tsunade's continued glower he decided not to.

Tonton oinked at him cheerfully, either oblivious or choosing to ignore the way the blonde woman glowered at Masaru. "Um, Lady Tsunade and I will head on to the restaurant," the dark-haired woman said quickly, offering a placating smile. "You can catch up with your friend and meet us there in a few minutes, Sakura-chan."

"Alright, Shizune-san," Sakura agreed with a nod. "If the waiter arrives before I do, just order me the chicken teriyaki stir fry."

"Will do! Bye!" The dark haired woman—newly dubbed Shizune—quickly pushed Tsunade away, leaving them behind.

"...I don't think Tsunade likes me," Masaru said after a moment, and Sakura laughed awkwardly.

"No, no, don't think like that. She's just... gruff." Tonton oinked and bobbed her head in apparent agreement, though Masaru still had reservations. Between the scowls and constant glowering, he felt pretty sure his suspicion didn't just stem from his usual social anxiety.

"What are you doing, anyway?" he asked, trying to change the subject. "Any, uh, progress convincing her so far?"

"Not really," Sakura replied with a sheepish look. "So far I've mostly been just following them while they shop and carry stuff for them, or watch after Tonton. Tsunade-sama isn't really... _happy_ to have me around, but she's putting up with me for now." She looked a bit downfallen at that, but quickly plastered on a smile as she continued, "Shizune-san agreed to answer questions I have about medical ninjutsu though, and she got Tsunade-sama to offer a couple tips too, so at least I'm learning _something_. Oh, and I also got a chance to show off my chakra punches to them!"

"Chakra punches?" Masaru looked at her blankly, and Sakura's grin grew a touch more feral.

"Some pervert decided to try to cup a feel on me yesterday," she confided, and her eyes glinted with malicious satisfaction as she added, "Shizune-san had to heal his ribs so he could be moved into custody without puncturing a lung." Masaru winced in mild sympathy for the hapless pervert. He hadn't actually seen her power in action, but he vaguely recalled Sasuke mentioning Sakura punching Temari into a wall during the invasion. Apparently that hadn't been a fluke.

"...Okay then." Hard to respond to _that_. Searching for something else to say, he glanced at the store she just exited and blinked. "What kind of shop is _that_?" Dark blue curtains with a starry pattern hung in the window of the store to block its interior from view, while a large golden _maneki-neko_ sat in front with its right paw raised in a beckoning gesture. The left paw rested on a circular sign proclaiming "MADAM MIRAI'S CHARMS" in bold lettering.

"Ah, Shizune-san thought it might be nice to get some lucky charms for the tournament tonight," Sakura explained with a sheepish smile. "The store's actually really cheap, though, and the owner mostly kept pushing us to have our fortunes told so we didn't get anything."

"...Interesting." Fortune tellers weren't exactly common in Konoha, or at least Masaru didn't see any in the districts where shinobi usually shopped. Fortunes could be fun for civilians, but for shinobi who could potentially die any time they left the village... well. It just wasn't something people wanted to know. He pushed the thought away and asked, "Speaking of the tournament...?"

He trailed off, but Sakura seemed to get the message. Frowning, she glanced around for anyone was nearby before stepping closer and lowering her voice. "I'm going to stick with them until then and try to convince her to come back. I spoke to Shizune-san last night, and she agrees that it's a good idea for Tsunade-sama to go back to Konoha so she'll try to help too. But no matter what, I'll go straight back to the inn by the time the tournament starts, to help with the... _other_ mission."

Masaru nodded slowly, and Sakura stepped back. "Anyways, I should go before they get impatient. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Alright, later," Masaru agreed, and sighed as he watched Sakura quickly run off in the direction the other two women had headed. Well, at least _someone_ was getting something out of this mission... maybe. He shrugged it off as he turned back to the toy store.

Yeah, maybe he _would_ get the stuffed kittens. If he got an eyepatch, that one would look _just_ like Masahige... As he pondered it, he felt someone pass behind him and suddenly tensed, a familiar sensation abruptly washing over him.

 _"Why do you like peaches?"_

 _"I dunno. They taste good?"_

 _"But they're all_ mushy _." Akari made a face as she dragged a chair in front of the fridge. "I don't like mushy stuff. It's like baby food!"_

 _"Well, better than taking a bite and losing a tooth," Masaru grumbled as he stood behind her, and Akari rolled her eyes as she climbed onto the chair to reach the freezer. At six, neither of the twins were tall enough to reach the handle on their own._

 _"You're just jealous I lost a tooth before you," she sniffed. Rising on her toes, she rooted around the freezer and pulled out an ice cube tray. "Here, take this!" Masaru dutifully took the tray from her and carried it to the kitchen counter while she hopped down from the chair. Toothpicks stuck out of each cube, the frozen liquid ranging in color from pink to orange to dark brown._

 _"The chocolate milk ones look kinda weird," Masaru noted, his nose wrinkling as Akari snatched the tray from him._

 _"It'll be fine!" she declared, bending the tray to loosen the frozen treats. She yanked out one of the brown ones and popped it into her mouth, using the toothpick as a handle. Her expression shifted slightly though, her eyes squinting a bit as her face pinched. "Huh, the texture's kinda weird."_

 _"I told you it looked weird," Masaru replied, freeing one of the pinkish ones. Icy coolness filled his mouth as he ate it, the familiar flavor of peach juice washing over his taste buds. Akari huffed and stuck the chocolate milk one back into the tray, freeing an orange one instead._

 _"Well, at least the orange juice ones taste fine." Masaru paused, pulling the peach pop out of his mouth._

 _"Hey, aren't oranges really mushy too?" Akari's face flared, shaking her head._

 _"Th-that's different!"_

In the present Masaru snapped out of the reverie with a gasp, staggering as if struck. He spun around wide-eyed, looking around the street, but he saw no one. He frowned, slowly forcing himself to relax even as the tension refused to leave his body.

For some reason, he felt very lonely now...

* * *

Sakura sighed as she walked down the street with her bag in hand. Three days had passed since her first fateful encounter with her childhood idol Tsunade, and she had spent nearly every hour of those three days trying to convince her to return to Konoha. These had easily been among the most stressful days of her life.

No matter what she did Tsunade never eased up on her harsh scowl and cold glare, seeming to tolerate Sakura's presence as opposed to actually _accepting_ her. Every time she spoke she seemed determined to crush down Sakura's confidence, peppering her with cruel taunts and cold insults. The few times the woman smiled it was cold and grim, accompanied by harsh, spiteful words and bitter laughs.

Each time Tsunade opened her mouth to criticize her, Sakura took it with as much grace as she could, even as her nerves whittled away bit by bit with each harsh word. No one could really just brush off being insulted by their childhood idol; every word stung painfully and made her want to scream more and more. Only Shizune, who treated her with such kindness and reigned in her mentor's worse behaviors, gave Sakura the strength to persevere and endure the insults.

In the end, though, it had all been for nothing. Sakura had reached her self-imposed deadline and Tsunade had headed off to the stupid poker tournament, and after that she would ditch town and Sakura would probably never see her again. Knowing she failed weighed down on her, and she sighed loudly as she massaged her forehead, her eyes squeezing shut.

When she'd spied Sasuke that first day with Tsunade, he'd looked so mad... He hadn't even tried to approach her, just jumped onto the roof to get away. He'd been so angry at her for trying to go after Tsunade, and now that she'd failed, she couldn't even _begin_ to imagine how he'd react.

As she gloomily reflected over the possibilities she felt a man's shoulder bump against hers, prompting her to quickly open her eyes. "Ah, excuse me, sorry about that," the man murmured, giving her a brief nod. She absently returned the nod with a quiet "no problem" and continued on her way, only to abruptly freeze. Blinking, she glanced over her shoulder with a small frown, but the man had already disappeared, blending into the late evening crowd.

Sakura's eyebrows knit together as she slowly turned forward, her steps slower now as she fell into thought. That man... He'd been wearing sunglasses and a dark red bandana over his hair, common enough in the late summer. But his _voice_... Deep and melodic, almost like...

Slowly the pink-haired girl shook her head, forcing herself to turn forward. "It _couldn't_ be," she murmured under her breath as she resumed walking. "He wouldn't... Showing up here now, he has no reason." Still, her voice came out uncertain even to her own ears, and after a few steps she came to a halt.

"Screw it," she hissed, and spun around to race in the direction the mystery man had headed.

Taking to the rooftops to avoid the crowds, she scanned the streets below even as her gaze flitted towards the horizon, mentally running through all the buildings in that direction. This town didn't have many notable landmarks, just a bunch of stores and restaurants. She recalled a relatively high-class inn in that direction, the kind affordable only to wealthier traders and nobles, so if he wanted to find someone for _ransom_ —

 _But why would he want that?_

Sakura's teeth ground in frustration, her steps coming to a screeching halt as she clawed at her hair. Stupid, this was such a stretch. Sakura was going off a _voice_ alone, a quiet mumbling voice, and that—that wasn't enough to establish _any_ sort of link. "Nerves," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's—it's just nerves, that's all." She slowly turned and resumed her trek back the original way she'd come, dropping into an alleyway nearby.

The second her feet touched the ground, a bulky arm wrapped around her and yanked her deeper into the shadows. A gloved hand slapped over her mouth before she could scream, muffling any screams. "Sorry to cut in, but I'm gonna need to borrow you for a few hours," a voice breathed into her ear, and then the streets vanished as the world flickered away.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hooray cliffhangers! Just a heads up: The Kiri SI/OC story is now up! It's called "The Bloody Oracle of Kiri", and so far it's getting pretty good reception? Actually I'm kinda stunned, I'm two chapters in with 20 comments while it took EoL until Chapter 4 to get even one comment. At this pace I'll even reach 100 followers on it after I post Chapter 3... Which, awesome, but also kinda sad since reception on this one is so quiet. Anyways, you might want to check it out. It's a pretty different change of pace from EoL, it's going to be a crazy ride.**

 **Before I go, one important question that will determine a detail about a certain upcoming OC: _Red or purple?_**


	51. Chapter 48: Trust Your Instincts

Chapter 48

* * *

" _People have gut feelings for a reason. Sometimes they're wrong, but it's always better safe than sorry._ "

* * *

Shikamaru frowned as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes closed as he let the various aromas and noises of the restaurant consume his senses. Dinnertime had rolled around and once again his team found themselves seated at a restaurant in tense silence, Sasuke brooding and Masaru too anxious to try to start any conversations. Most of their meals had been like this since he'd approved for Sakura to break away to follow Tsunade.

And that was the problem, wasn't it?

 _Tap, tap, tap._

He twitched slightly as he listened to the steady rhythm of tapping, and he peeked open a single eye. Masaru drummed his fingers along the wooden tabletop, his expression pinched with mild anxiety as he glanced at the clock. Shikamaru followed his glance silently, idly noting the time as six thirty-two. After a moment he sighed, the noise barely audible over the inane background chatter from the other patrons, and while Sasuke instantly directed a sharp look his way Masaru didn't seem to hear.

 _Right, he's partially deaf._ Shikamaru had only learned that tidbit recently when Kabuto mentioned it before the first phase of the Chuunin Exams. Considering the man's recently revealed traitor status, it should probably be concerning he knew that when no one else in their graduating class knew. That thought could wait for another time though, and he raised his voice slightly to get Masaru's attention.

"Okay, I'll bite," he said, and Masaru's eyes darted his way in mild surprise. "What's got you so worked up?"

The cool aura surrounding Sasuke faltered briefly, his eyes sliding over to his cousin. Masaru hesitated, glancing at the clock one more time, before reaching into his pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper. Shikamaru arched an eyebrow as he spread it on the table, recognizing the bright colors instantly, while Sasuke's face instantly morphed into a scowl.

"That stupid flyer again?" he spat, and Masaru flinched slightly at the venom in his tone. He quickly shook it off though, turning to Shikamaru as his face firmed with resolve.

"According to this flyer, the poker tournament is scheduled to start at six," he informed him, using the matter-of-fact tone used to report to a superior. "It's now past six thirty." Shikamaru huffed softly, crossing his arms as he looked at him.

"Yeah, that's true," he drawled. "What about it?" Masaru frowned, glancing at Sasuke briefly before continuing.

"I ran into Sakura today." Sasuke scoffed loudly in annoyance, but Shikamaru held up a hand to signal for silence. The other boy's scowl deepened but he remained silent, and Shikamaru nodded at Masaru to continue. "She said she'd leave Tsunade and meet us at the inn before the tournament started, no matter what the outcome was. But..."

He trailed off, his brow furrowing. "But she didn't show up," Shikamaru finished for him, and Masaru nodded.

"We left fifteen minutes ago," Sasuke pointed out coolly. "If she _did_ go back, she's probably there now and doesn't know where we went."

"But wouldn't they try to go to the tournament early?" Masaru argued. "I mean, yeah, it _starts_ at six, but there's probably a registration period before then or something..." As the two Uchiha launched into a debate Shikamaru just frowned and closed his eyes, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table with his fingers cupped into a circle.

Theoretically, Sakura _could_ be at the inn. Yesterday he'd sought out Sakura to make sure she would still return in time for their mission's main objective, because while the bandit hunt had been a ruse, the main objective—to identify and retrieve Mito's tessen—had been real. She'd confirmed she would return to the inn if she failed to convince Tsunade before the tournament started, and apparently she'd reaffirmed it to Masaru.

She _could_ have just run a little late and missed them, or maybe she just wanted to avoid Sasuke a little longer. She could have even just stopped at a bakery to drown her woes in sugary desserts. Shikamaru could come up with a myriad of reasons for Sakura's current absence, all of them benign and plausible. But despite that, some voice in the back of his head told him something was _wrong_.

Maybe Masaru's paranoia was just rubbing off on him—or maybe his instincts had picked up on something he hadn't picked up on consciously.

His mind flickered back to training with Team Ten, cooling off after a vigorous sparring session while listening to one of Asuma's endless lectures.

" _Shinobi must always trust their instincts,_ " he'd told them. " _There are many small warning signs that humans will unconsciously notice when something is wrong, even if we don't notice it consciously. In battle and hostile territory, listening to that instinct can mean the difference between life and death._ "

In the present, he could only think of one word to sum up his current gut feeling: _troublesome_. "We'll check the inn," he decided, opening his eyes. "If she's not there, we'll check the bar where the poker tournament is next." The Uchiha boys cut off their argument and turned to him, Sasuke's eyes narrowing.

"Now?"

"Yes, now," Shikamaru replied dryly, getting up. He slapped some ryo on the table to cover the food they'd ordered, adding, "Dinner can wait. The service here is ridiculously slow anyway." Sasuke still looked annoyed at the sudden change of plans, but he obediently got up along and followed Shikamaru to the door alongside a frowning Masaru.

"Do you think something happened?" he pressed, and Shikamaru shrugged.

"I'm not sure," he replied honestly. "But better safe than sorry." He hoped his gut feeling was wrong and he was just overreacting.

But when they arrived at the inn and found no sign of her, that prickling sense of unease only solidified. Even Sasuke seemed more unsettled now, his sullen aura fading to something more serious as he looked around the empty lobby while Shikamaru spoke to the innkeeper.

"Oh, that sweet pink-haired girl?" the elderly woman asked. "Why, no, I haven't seen her today. I suppose she's been chased off by that filthy, _sinful_ boy." She directed a sour glare towards Sasuke, who returned it with a dark glower of his own. Masaru coughed and grabbed his arm, quickly dragging him out of the inn before he could launch a fireball at the bigoted woman while Shikamaru trailed behind.

"She's not there," Masaru said once they got outside. "What now?"

"She could just be distracted," Sasuke muttered, but even he sounded a bit uncertain now. Shikamaru sighed softly, massaging his forehead. All three of them apparently had that bad feeling now, and he didn't think it'd be wise to ignore that.

"Let's check the poker tournament."

* * *

Located in a wealthier district than the Three Sparrows Bar, the Kurushima Cardinal clearly catered to a more upscale clientele than the other bar. Two wooden statues shaped like the eponymous bird with red lacquer finishes flanked the doors, a simple sign proclaiming the bar's name in elegant calligraphy hanging above them. Even from a distance they could tell that the bar was busy, the windows glowing brightly with colorful banners strung up proclaiming the tournament's status.

Raucous laughter greeted them when they stepped through the doors, the room a few degrees warmer than the street from the body heat of all the people gathered in the tight space. Throngs of people crowded around the tables, the clinking of glasses mixing with the loud chatter.

Masaru winced slightly as he eyed the thick crowd, every hair rising on the back of his neck. His discomfort wasn't just from his usual social anxiety. Crowded spaces tended to set off every sense a shinobi had; they'd been trained to pick out any threat, and it would be all too easy for an assassin to hide within a crowd. He could tell Sasuke and Shikamaru felt on edge too, their postures stiff as they slowly walked inside. No one batted an eye at their presence despite being underage, probably because the building also housed an inn on the upper floors.

Shikamaru glanced back at them and gestured to his eyes, and it took a moment before Masaru realized he wanted them to activate their Sharingan. Obeying the silent command, he read Shikamaru's lips as the other boy spoke, his voice drowned out by the loud din surrounding them. "The crowd's too thick. Stick together and use your eyes to look for Sakura, Tsunade or the dark-haired woman."

Masaru and Sasuke nodded in tandem, surveying the room as discreetly as possible as they walked inside. Theoretically Sakura's bright pink hair _should_ make it easy to spot her. Most of the patrons had darker hair, with a scattering of lighter shades of brown and blond. However, most of them also happened to be adults with large builds that could easily conceal a small thirteen-year-old girl's form.

Beyond that, several of them veered away from the usual earthy tones civilians wore in favor of flashy colors. Sunny yellow and sky blue and bright jade green jumped out at him from the crowds, some of the men wearing haori jackets clearly tailored to be flashy and eye-catching. Just looking at some of them hurt his eyes, the patterns containing clashing colors that strained the eye to see without any buffer between them. To a Sharingan user, whose eyes could pick out all sorts of minute details, the visual feedback felt almost overwhelming and painful.

Sasuke nudged his elbow, and when he turned to look his cousin gestured towards a nearby table with his head. A small crowd of spectators had gathered around it, blocking most of the table from view, but on the opposite side Masaru could see a familiar black-haired woman hovering with a dismayed expression, holding a pig with a pearl necklace. _Shizune._

Exchanging looks with the others, Shikamaru nodded and they started to approach the table, all business. A loud chorus of cheers arose as something happened at the table, and as the group approached one man shot up while slamming his hands on the table. "No fuckin' way!" he hollered angrily. "You have to be cheating!"

A sharp bark of laughter resonated through the air, Tsunade's lips curled into a wry smirk as she leaned forward. "Oh, don't be such a sore loser," she taunted. "It's not my fault you have a shitty poker face."

"You're the fucking Legendary Loser!" the man roared indignantly. "You can't win a gamble to save your life!" One of the players next to him snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Forget it, Tetsuo," he drawled. "You lost. This is only round two. There's plenty of time for her to get knocked out before the final round." The man's face glowed bright red, but he turned and stomped away, roughly shoving his way past the trio of teens that had arrived behind him. The young shinobi exchanged wry looks as the dealer shuffled the card deck and started dealing a new hand.

Poker, unlike many card games, depended on skill as much as luck. Every turn the players would be dealt five cards, and could exchange some of the cards with the hope of getting a matching set before placing bets. However, one didn't need to have a good hand to win—what really mattered was making the other players _think_ you had a good hand. If a player could bluff well enough, they could theoretically win with a hand of worthless cards.

Reading opponents' faces could be crucial to victory, and as a shinobi who dealt in life and death situations every day, Tsunade had an advantage over her civilian opponents.

Mostly.

Given her bad luck, it likely wouldn't take long for her to get eliminated from the tournament. From his current angle Masaru could see the man next to Tsunade had four consecutive cards in a single suit ranging from nine to the queen, making him grimace. The man was only one card off from a straight flush, and when he leaned to the side he could see Tsunade had a random spattering of cards spanning all four suits, ranging from two to six. It would take one hell of a bluff to win with _that_ hand.

As he mulled over it a flicker of movement caught his eye, and he focused on another player. The man wore one of the more colorful jackets, bright gold with an eye-hurting indigo and teal trim around the sleeves. He winced and looked away, but just as he did he noticed something white peek out.

 _Oh?_

Within seconds he'd moved to the man's side, gripping his wrist in a vice grip. A sudden hush fell over the table at his abrupt appearance, some of the crowd jumping in surprise. The man himself snapped his head to glare at Masaru, his face flaring red with anger as he opened his mouth, but stopped as he locked eyes with the Sharingan. Masaru smiled sweetly, fully aware of the dissonance the expression generated when paired with his eyes, and the man's face drained of color.

Across the table Tsunade remained unmoved by the sudden shift, slamming her hand on the table. "Brat, what the hell are you doing here?" she snarled, but Masaru ignored her and focused on the man.

"Hey, mister, what are you doing with that?" he asked brightly.

"W-w-what a-are you t-talkin' about?" the man stuttered, and Masaru's innocent smile widened as he tilted the man's hand at an angle. Several cards slipped out of his sleeves, falling to the table in a jumbled mess, the last one falling face-up to reveal a King of Spades.

Heavy silence descended on the table, the atmosphere growing much more tense as the man broke into a cold sweat. For his part, Masaru just laughed, bright and innocent like the child he should have been. "Mister, didn't your mom ever tell you cheating's bad?" he scolded cheerfully, releasing his grip and giving his head a light knock. "Shame on you!" He turned to the rest of the table, smile still in place, and added, "Cheating's bad, isn't it?"

Dead. Silence.

And then, _chaos_.

Angry shouting erupted as the crowd converged on the man, Masaru skipping back lightly to avoid the lunging mob's path. The rest of the bar patrons had turned their attention their way at this point, attracted by the noise and sudden murderous intent leaking from the crowd. As Masaru rejoined his teammates they offered him matching dull looks, silently conveying, ' _Really?_ '

He just smiled and shrugged. So maybe he'd cast a _light_ genjutsu with his Sharingan to ramp up their violent tendency. It wouldn't harm anyone (much).

The woman in charge of dealing looked rather miffed, sorting through the card deck with a noticeable scowl. Apparently she'd found more evidence of cheating because he saw her tell the other players, "Game's postponed for five minutes" before stalking towards the other tables, no doubt to talk about weeding out other cheaters. As she departed Tsunade surveyed the chaos with a droll look, and slowly turned to look at Masaru. He just smiled and waved at her. She didn't look impressed, and rose from the table to storm over.

Masaru took a step back as Tsunade came to a halt before them, the blonde woman crossing her arms with a severe scowl. "Alright, brats, what do you want?" she demanded briskly, her bronze eyes boring into them. Shikamaru sighed and offered Masaru a dull glare, as if silently blaming him for her bad mood, before turning to address the annoyed Sannin.

"We're looking for Sakura," he declared flatly, wasting no time. "Is she here?"

"No, she's not," Tsunade replied shortly. At this point Shizune appeared next to her, having skirted around the edges of the angry mob to join them.

"Sakura-chan?" she repeated, her eyebrows furrowing in concern. "She left around five to rejoin your team. She told me she would go straight to your inn. Did she not show up?" The group frowned, exchanging pointed looks. Obviously, Sakura had _not_ returned to the inn. So either she got distracted, or...

The bad feeling in Masaru's stomach twisted further, and Sasuke's face hardened as he turned back to the women. "No, she didn't," he confirmed tightly.

"Where did you see her last?" Shikamaru questioned. His voice held no room for playing around, his face locked into an expression that was strictly business.

"Right outside," Shizune replied. Her frown deepened, and even Tonton seemed distressed, squirming in Shizune's arms to curl in on herself with a nervous-sounding squeal. "Tsunade-sama, maybe we should help look."

"The tournament's postponed, not canceled," Tsunade argued flatly. "The kid probably got lost." Masaru could see Sasuke flinch, color rising in his face as his eyes flickered red for just a brief second.

" _Sasuke,_ " he whispered, tugging his arm with a grimace. Unconscious activation of the Sharingan never meant well, but before he could try to coerce his cousin to leave Sasuke jerked forward and stalked towards Tsunade with a scowl.

"She wouldn't get lost!" he roared. "Sakura's not an idiot! It's a straight line from here to the place we're staying!"

"Hardly enough to stop some people I know," Tsunade snorted, rolling her eyes, and Sasuke ground his teeth.

"What the hell is your problem!?"

"My _problem_ is that there are a bunch of brats trying to throw their lives away for no damn reason!"

"No reason?" Sasuke hissed, and this time his Sharingan did activate, the tomoe swirling violently. " _No reason_? You want a reason? There's a fucking monster out there who killed my entire family except for _one person_ , and that _one person_ is so stupid and crazy he can't even accept that his own mother was a _fucking psycho who might have killed his own sister_!"

Tense silence fell as Sasuke screamed the last words, and the air flew out of Masaru's chest. Maybe the other bar patrons had gone quiet, or maybe his hearing had just gone out. All he knew was that he heard nothing but his own breathing, the world seeming to still. Shizune stared at Sasuke in horrified shock, and even Tsunade looked taken aback by the claim. From the corner of his eye he could see Shikamaru eying him closely, as if silently asking, ' _What are you going to do now?_ '

Swallowing, Masaru forced out the words, "That's enough." Sasuke whirled to _glare_ at him, all six tomoe in his Sharingan still spinning wildly, but Masaru didn't flinch and just met his gaze dead on. His own Sharingan had faded, leaving his eyes an inky and dead-looking black. "I'm going to find Sakura. You can come look if you're done with your tantrum." He turned to Shizune and Tsunade, dipping into a bow. "Thank you for your assistance. We won't bother you any longer. And... sorry for your loss."

With that he turned and left, ignoring any looks the other bar goers may or may not be giving him. As soon as he stepped outside he took to the rooftops and just stood there, fingernails digging into his palms as his fists curled and his vision blurred. An overwhelming urge to just run consumed him, to just get away as far as possible, but he remained rooted to the roof, willing himself to _calm down_.

Running away would just cause problems. They already had one missing teammate, they didn't need another.

White fire seeped into the fringes of his vision, Akari's voice ringing in his ears. ' _Sasuke knows nothing, don't listen to him. He's just upset and throwing a tantrum, that's all. You know the truth, and that's all that matters.'_

He swallowed and nodded, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve. "Do you know where Sakura is?" he whispered.

The only answer he got was silence.

* * *

Sasuke stood perfectly rigid as he stared at the door his cousin just exited, his pulse gradually slowing to a normal rate as his anger tapered away to something... deader. He expected to still feel angry, or frustrated, or _something_ , but the rage that had been steadily building over the past few days had vanished. Three days' worth of frustration had fueled that outburst, and three weeks of increasing frustration had been what come out instead.

And now, he just felt empty.

Next to him Shikamaru huffed a loud sigh, grabbing his arm. "You and I need to talk, right now," he announced briskly, and Sasuke offered no objections as the other boy dragged him outside. No one said anything as they left, dozens of eyes just following them in silence. Sasuke didn't look at anyone, made no effort to look back at the woman he'd just unloaded three days' worth of mounting frustration on, he just stared at the red spiral on the back of Shikamaru's flak jacket with a clenched jaw.

Once outside Shikamaru dragged him to a nearby alley, probably the most private space they could find without going back to the inn. "What the hell was that?" he asked dryly, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Sasuke just scowled, pointedly looking away.

"It's none of your business."

"It's my business when it gets in the way of the mission I'm leading," Shikamaru responded flatly, and sighed. "Look, I know some kind of shit when down back in the invasion. I don't know what happened, but I get the feeling you weren't planning to actually say that when you screamed at her back there."

Sasuke's scowl deepened but he said nothing, just crossed his arms. It pained him to admit it, but Shikamaru was right. When Tsunade had yelled about "brats throwing their lives away for no damn reason" he'd seen red and just _reacted_. He hadn't been thinking about what he said, the words just flew out of his mouth. He didn't even realize what he'd said for about two seconds, and when he did he'd been just as stunned as everyone else. But looking back, maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised.

He didn't understand.

He didn't understand why _either_ of them cared so much.

Sakura about that shitty gambler who told her to quit being a ninja, or Masaru about his potentially murderous mother. They just blindly worshipped them, choosing to ignore the obvious flaws in both women and then getting mad at _him_ whenever he tried to point them out. He still had no idea what was up with Tsunade, or if Ryoko really _did_ kill Akari or not, but Sasuke had spent three weeks watching his cousin just blatantly ignore the possibility and go about his life like absolutely nothing happened during the invasion, and now Sakura was doing the same thing.

And now Sakura was missing and might be hurt or even _dead_ for all they knew, all because she decided to ditch the mission to follow that shitty alcoholic gambler like a lost puppy.

His hands clenched tightly at his sides, his teeth grinding in frustration, but he still remained silent. When it became clear he had no intention of speaking Shikamaru finally sighed. "It's troublesome, but that's going to have to wait. Right now all signs point to Sakura being in trouble, so we need to focus on finding her first. You guys can sort out all this stuff later." Sasuke swallowed thickly, giving a tight nod as his eyes fell to the ground.

Footsteps lightly touched down next to them, and he glanced over to see Masaru walking their way. He didn't look at Sasuke, just stared at Shikamaru. "You're mission lead," he said flatly. "What now?" Shikamaru twitched and closed his eyes to think, clearly displeased with the way events had unfolded.

"We'll retrace Sakura's steps," he decided. "She'd probably head back to one of the inns from here, either ours or the one where Tsunade is staying, to get her stuff. If we're lucky, we can find traces or clues about what happened along the way."

"There's multiple routes though," Masaru pointed out sullenly.

"I know." Shikamaru sighed, and then peeked open one eye to peer at his right arm. "Did you get that?" Both Uchiha gave a start as a small beetle suddenly lifted from his arm, buzzing away into the night.

"Wh-what the hell?" Masaru stammered, while Sasuke eyed the departing insect critically. _A kikaichu?_

"I'll explain later," Shikamaru said curtly. "Right now, we need to focus on finding Sakura." Sasuke just stared at him evenly, his mind whirling with questions, but then he closed his mouth and nodded. He turned back to the street, ready to start the search, when he noticed Masaru suddenly pause and stare down at the stone path.

His eyes narrowed as he watched Masaru stride forward, the other boy's Sharingan flickering to life once more as he bent down and carefully picked something up. "Shikamaru, look," he called, hefting his hand for the other boy to see. A single strand of hair dangled from his fingers, rosy and pink in the fading sunlight. The other boys' eyes widened, recognizing it instantly. None of them had any doubt: it _had_ to be Sakura's.

"So we know she was near here," Shikamaru said, mind visibly racing. "But that's not enough to start a search." Next to him Sasuke frowned, scanning the street with his own Sharingan active. He quickly jumped onto a nearby roof to get a better vantage point, only for his eyes to zero in on another strand near his feet almost immediately after landing. He picked it up as the others landed behind him, eyes narrowing at it.

"What the hell is going on?" he growled, the strand waving as his hand clenched into a fist and he turned to scan the other rooftops. Sure enough _more_ strands of pink popped out at him, the light color sharply contrasting against the black and dark gray tiles.

"I take it you see more," Shikamaru commented dryly, and Masaru nodded tightly while Sasuke continued to glare at the nearby rooftops, making him sigh. "On a scale of one to ten, how likely do you think it was planted?"

"It was," Sasuke confirmed lowly, glaring at the hairs. Hair fell loose all the time—a fact Sasuke could loudly attest to after spending years dealing with Masaru's unruly mane—but Sakura's hair was short and well-maintained. Shedding multiple, _singular_ strands of hair, in key locations where they'd stand out?

Everything about it _screamed_ suspicious.

The others obviously reached the same the conclusion. "Then this is probably a trap. Figures." Shikamaru crossed his arms with a frown, his eyes pinching shut. "So our options are to follow it and walk into a probable ambush, or try to call for backup and risk Sakura's kidnappers getting impatient."

"Do we really have a choice?" Masaru questioned with a mild grimace.

"Not really," Shikamaru responded dryly, and opened his eyes. "Sasuke, Masaru, you two take lead. We're going slow." The others nodded and took off, following the trail of pink across the city. Questions could wait. Finding Sakura took precedence.

* * *

Sakura's eyes slowly fluttered open, her vision blurred by sleep. Her head swam, her vision blurred and hazy, and her cheek and entire left side was pressed against something flat and hard. _Ugh... Did I fall sleep on the floor?_ Her eyes pinched shut in mild annoyance as a tingling sensation ran up her side at the smallest shift. Dang it, her entire left arm felt totally numb.

Groaning softly, she tried to shake off the pins and needles in her arm while rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her other hand. Why did she even fall asleep—Wait. Memories of the last few minutes suddenly rushed back—walking through town, jumping onto roofs to follow a man, and then getting kidnapped—and she jerked into an upright position with a startled gasp, uncaring of the numbness.

This room—she didn't recognize it at all. It seemed to be some kind of storage room or—or _something_ , it was big and full of crates. Lit candles lined the wooden floor along the walls to provide light, casting a faint gold glow onto the generic unpainted grayish-brown walls. Dull light streamed through the windows, it had that weird transitional grayish-blue tint to it associated with early evening. Her heart picked up pace as she tried to quash her growing panic, scrambling to her feet.

 _Shit, was I kidnapped!?_ She'd been told about hostage situations back in the academy, but she had never expected to actually _be_ in one. As she desperately struggled to recall the advice she'd been given for this scenario she heard a soft hum behind her and she froze, her blood running cold.

"Not gonna lie, you woke up faster than I expected."

Sakura's breath caught in her throat, the hairs on her arms standing on end. Slowly she turned her head, her eyes widening with growing horror.

 _Slowly the pink-haired girl shook her head, forcing herself to turn forward. "It_ couldn't _be," she murmured under her breath as she resumed walking. "He wouldn't... Showing up here now, he has no reason."_

(She should have listened.)

 _Sakura was going off a_ voice _alone, a quiet mumbling voice, and that—that wasn't enough to establish_ any _sort of link. "Nerves," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. "It's—it's just nerves, that's all._

(She should have trusted her instincts.)

"Y-you're... h-him..."

Seated behind her atop a random crate was the dark-haired man from Wave, his red mask eerily glowing in the flickering candlelight as he raised a hand in greeting.

"Hiya. Long time no see."

* * *

 **AT LONG LAST HE RETURNS! Did I ever mention how much I love this guy? He is so fun to write and it breaks my heart how little he appears in this story because he's so dang fun. Apparently he's branched out from Kakashi-napping to Sakura-napping, too. Good for him! (Bad for Sakura.)**

 **So much is happening now. The arc is about to hit its climax, Sasuke's got issues, Masaru also has issues, and Shikamaru's probably the only person on this mission who's NOT emotionally screwed up in some way right now. I wonder if anyone can figure out what's going on?  
**

 **Lately I've been pretty busy with college stuff, wisdom teeth removal recovery and also a bit of Stardew Valley for the Switch, so I haven't been able to respond to all the comments with PMs like I usually (try to) do. But on Bloody Oracle I've been thanking everyone and responding to the comments in the author's notes, with PMs to some of the more detailed ones, so I think I'll just start doing that here. I think the last chapter got the most reviews I've gotten in a while, which is seriously SO encouraging and amazing.**

 **So thanks to Guest (Welcome from Bloody Oracle! And don't worry about Masaru, he's under pressure, but he's actually a LOT stronger than people realize, your post DID give me some stuff to think about though), Reebajee (thanks again for catching that typo last chapter!), Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf (depends on the shade I guess), dreaming of rocketships (thank you so much! Seriously, it's especially awesome to hear from the silent crowd. And all will become clear with time), May525 (kami dang it after reading this comment I realized Masaru x Fu have the perfect ship name: Firefly. Curse you for putting that in my head!), ManawaSasa (this made me laugh so hard for reasons I can't explain just yet), Guest (did you say you like cliffhangers? Enjoy this one), another Guest (who says Masaru isn't already dark?), and TheSupevict (welcome to the joys of being up to date! I aim to update every other Thursday).**

 **Thanks again for all the comments! Also, on the note of the poll: Purple is in the lead across both sites, 7 to 3. So that's one detail settled. So, unrelated question to sate my curiosity: any guesses on our Friendly Kidnapper's intentions THIS time?**


	52. Chapter 49: Very Bad Night

Chapter 49

* * *

 _"Sometimes, you have a bad day. Sometimes, you have a horrible day. Sometimes, you think of that kid in that one story where everything seemed to go wrong and just think, 'You know NOTHING'. What a bad day, am I right?"_

* * *

Tsunade growled under her breath as she sat at the bar, her red lips pulled into a sour scowl. The tournament had been delayed past the originally promised five minutes at this point, with the end to the break no where in sight. All of the dealers had gone into the back with a manager to talk about who-knows-what, and she didn't expect them to come out any time soon.

"Dirty rotten brat," she grumbled, chugging down the contents of the small sake cup the bartender poured for her. If that brat hadn't pointed out that one idiot for cheating, she'd probably be in the second or maybe even third round by this point. Poker happened to be one of the few forms of gambling she was _good_ at, seeing as it depended on bluffing and seeing through bluffs than regular luck alone. All medical ninja developed a good skill for reading faces and detecting lies given how so many idiots liked to act tough and hide their injuries.

Her expression darkened at the thought, a small crack appearing in the porcelain cup as her fingers unconsciously squeezed.

" _Tsunade-sama, please teach me medical ninjutsu!_ "

" _Tsunade-sama, look! I finally revived the fish! Will you teach me now?_ "

" _Tsunade-sensei, I did it! The cut is totally gone!_ "

" _Tsunade-sensei, I know it looks bad, but—I need to do this. No one can know about this. Please, I_ beg _you!_ "

" _Shishou, thank you for teaching me all these years._ "

"Lady Tsunade?"

Shizune's concerned voice snapped Tsunade out of her dark musings, and her eyes trailed downwards to her hand. Shards of porcelain littered the countertop below her closed fist, a small pool of sake dripping from her hand. Her face darkened as she unclenched her hand, letting the few remaining fragments of the cup drop as she stared at the small, pink dents left in her palm.

Her gaze slowly drifted to her wrist, the smooth curve interrupted by a wide, hand-carved wooden bracelet with a red lacquer finish. She breathed slowly, glaring at the kanji for ' _Faith_ ' carved into the wood. Her hand balled into a fist again and slammed onto the table, her teeth digging into her lower lip.

"Fuck this," she growled under her breath, and then raised her voice to yell at the bartender. "Hey, you! More sake! _Now_!"

* * *

 _Sakura hesitated as she hovered in the doorway, her mouth pressed into a tight line while watching Kakashi. The jounin sat on the edge of the porch of Tazuna's house, staring into the distance. The sun had yet to even peek over the trees, the sky still dark save for a dusting of pink in the horizon that really looked quite pretty. She sincerely doubted he was taking in the scenery, though._

 _No, for Kakashi to be out here, now, he was probably just... thinking._

 _Gnawing her lower lip, she hesitated before spinning on her heel, quietly tiptoeing back into the house. "Sakura-chan." She froze midstep, giving a small start. When she whirled around she found the silver-haired man still facing forward, staring at the not-quite-sunrise, but he continued quietly, "You're allowed to sit here too."_

 _Sakura stared at him in silence for a long moment, still surprised he'd addressed her at all. Releasing a deep, shuddering breath, she crept forward and carefully sat next to him, swinging her legs over the edge of the porch to dangle over the grass. For a long while, neither of them spoke. She just stared out at the horizon while avoiding his gaze, her fingers curling around the edge of the wooden planks._

 _Eventually, she inhaled sharply and forced herself to speak. "Kakashi-sensei, are... are you really okay?"_

 _"Straight to the point, I see." Kakashi hummed in thought. "Well, I could act tough and say I'm fine, but I don't think you'd believe that right now, would you?" Sakura bit her lip and shook her head, still not looking at him, and heard him sigh. "Thought not."_

 _He sighed yet again, and she could hear the wood creak as he shifted his weight to lean back. A long time passed before he spoke again, seeming to carefully consider his words. "I'll be honest, these past few days have been incredibly trying. I still have no idea who that man is, or just how strong he is since we never actually fought. I can't even say what his motivations truly are, despite all that's happened. But," his voice took on a sterner note, making her stiffen and her fingers dig into the fabric of her shirt, "I do know he's dangerous."_

 _At this point she risked a glance his way, and found his single visible eye locked onto her, more serious than she'd ever seen it before. "If you ever see him again, do_ not _engage him. Drop whatever you're doing, and_ run _. Am I understood?"_

 _Sakura swallowed and nodded, her head falling forward with her eyes squeezed shut. "Yes, sensei."_

 **xxx**

"What do you want?" Sakura demanded, her voice rough and scratchy as she glared at the man who had once captured her teacher. Every instinct screamed at her to run, even without Kakashi's warning ringing in her head, but she couldn't. She didn't mean that in a physical sense, either. The man had made no attempt to restrain her in any form, hell, she could probably get up and walk out the door with no problem.

But while normally this level of mobility during a hostage situation should be a positive factor, as a thirteen-year-old genin who mainly played support, the sheer amount of freedom _petrified_ her.

He hadn't neglected to bind her out of negligence or because he didn't take her seriously. He did so because of his confidence in his own skills to stop her. Even if she'd still had her weapon pack, Sakura wouldn't be able to take him on. She had no idea of his actual skill level, but his confidence and ease during their single previous encounter made it perfectly clear that he was on a different league.

Her heart beat faster as she remembered his taunting voice echoing around them, her eyes struggling to follow him as he seemed to just _blink_ out of existence with Kakashi slung over one shoulder. He'd managed to grab Kakashi so fast none of them had even seen it—one second Sasuke had been supporting him, and the next he was stumbling from the sudden absence of the unconscious jounin's weight.

Forget beating him, Sakura wouldn't even be able to _touch_ him.

Across from her the masked man just raised his hands in a placating gesture, speaking in a light and friendly tone. "Sorry, I know this is probably really scary. I promise I don't plan to do anything though."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," she quipped sarcastically. Internally she screamed at herself for talking like that, because what if he got mad and decided to kill her—

The man broke into sharp laughter, short but carefree as he shook his head. "Hah, yeah, no, that's pretty smart. Never trust kidnappers, even if we're technically allies."

"Technically?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes. _Gather as much information as possible, try to do_ something _useful._

"It's a long story, and one that could probably get you killed if I told you. Not by me, of course, but, well, there's plenty of other people who'd prefer to think of me as dead." He waved a hand dismissively. "You know how it goes. Or, maybe you don't, in which case, good for you. This world's way too rough and you're still a kid, you shouldn't have to deal with that stuff just yet. Anyway, seriously, I really don't plan to do anything to you. I wasn't expecting there to be any Leaf ninja way out here. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Her breath hitched, her eyes narrowing sharply as her hands curled at her sides. She didn't have a full picture of what was going on, but she could glean enough information from his words to get a basic idea. "We're in your way," she said carefully, just to make sure, and he bobbed his head in affirmation.

"Yep! You're just bait. Sorry about that." Sakura swallowed at the cheery confirmation, carefully schooling her face to look placid and unmoved despite the cold tendrils of fear steadily ensnaring her in an icy web of nerves. He had some sort of objective here in this town, and while she couldn't imagine _what_ it could be she at least knew that it couldn't be good.

"I hate to break it to you, but I'm not a good option," she forced out. "I've spent the past three days with Lady Tsunade. My team has no way to know I'm missing, and even if they notice I'm gone they'll just assume I'm still with her." Sakura knew she couldn't stop him, but the fact he wanted to distract her team meant he thought her teammates would somehow get in the way. So if she could convince him they wouldn't notice her absence, and the distraction would fail—

His disappointed sigh cut through her thoughts, the masked man crossing his arms and shaking his head while clicking his tongue. "That's so horrible of you, Sakura-chan," he scolded softly. "Konoha values teamwork above everything else. You should have more faith in your teammates. After all..." He trailed off, and for the briefest second she swore she saw red in the eye of the mask.

" _Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash._ "

An icy chill washed over her, the blood draining from her face. "Th-that's..."

"That's pretty much Kakashi's catchphrase, isn't it?" the man mused. "I thought you might recognize it. No way he wouldn't pass it on to you guys, I bet even Masaru-chan's heard it a bunch of times by now. But, more importantly, do you want to hear a story?" The question was so sudden it took a moment for Sakura to process it, and once she did she stared at him incredulously.

"W-what?" she stammered, and the man laughed.

"Well, since you insist, I'll give it my best shot!" He clapped his hands enthusiastically, and she could practically hear the smile in his voice. "So, long ago but also not THAT long ago, there was a girl with long red hair. More importantly, she also had very special type of chakra. Other villages wanted that chakra, and one day a bunch of ninja kidnapped her to take her to their village. She couldn't escape them on her own so she tried to leave a trail, but days passed with no rescue in sight. But then, just as she started to give up hope, a dashing hero appeared to save the day!"

He clapped his hands once more, leaning forward slightly, and Sakura reflexively leaned back even though several feet of empty space separated them. "And do you know how he found her?"

"I... N-no?" she replied hesitantly, and then suddenly he was _right in front of her_ , making her jump back with a scream. Her back slammed into the wall, her hands scrambling for the weapons pouch that usually adorned her thigh.

"Because she used that pretty red hair to leave a trail," the masked man declared in a low voice, and her heart fluttered to a stop as he held up a single strand of bright pink hair.

* * *

"The trail ends here," Sasuke declared tightly as the trio perched atop a roof. Shikamaru hummed, narrowing his eyes at the building across from them. They had followed the trail of pink hairs across the town until reaching what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. They could see a dull yellow light in one of the windows, the only sign of life in the entire building.

"This place _screams_ evil hideout," Masaru muttered dryly, and Shikamaru had to agree.

"Chances are she's in there, or the kidnapper is," he said lowly. Next to him Sasuke tensed up, looking ready to leap off the roof and burst through the window, and he had to suppress a sigh as he grabbed the Uchiha by the arm. "Hold on, the chances of it being a trap are too high to risk."

"Then what do we do?" Sasuke retorted, spinning to glare at him. "We're _days_ away from Konoha. Even ANBU would take at least half a day to reach here! By then Sakura could be _dead_!" His Sharingan spun wildly as he spoke, his irritation obvious in the tight set of his jaw, and even Shikamaru had to shudder at the cold intent he radiated. He understood now why some people used to call the Uchiha demons, those eyes burned through him.

He swallowed the down the instinctive urge to _run, look away_ and forced himself to meet the other boy's gaze head-on. "We're not rushing into this," he said forcefully. "The last thing we need to do is get into _more_ trouble." Sasuke just scowled, wrenching his arm free and turning to glare at the building. Masaru shot Shikamaru a surprisingly bland look, clearly unimpressed with his cousin's antics, and Shikamaru had to suppress the urge to sigh once more.

This mission was supposed to be easy.

From the moment he opened the file, Shikamaru knew the mission would largely be a waste of time. While the part about Mito's tessen had been true, the Hokage had been upfront about the bandit group's actual location and that it was a ruse to get Masaru and Sasuke as far from Konoha as possible until Gaara returned to Suna. He didn't expect any actual results from the mission beyond the fan's potential retrieval, and neither did the Third Hokage.

Overall, Shikamaru viewed this mission as more of a vacation than anything. Minimal risk of combat, a simple objective with a specific timeline, and a team of relatively quiet genin with established teamwork. Even after running into Tsunade, it had been a recipe for an easy time. While it served as a test of his abilities to lead a team as a chuunin, it mainly seemed like a chance to unwind and just get away from the stress from a still-recovering Konoha.

But now here he was, standing on a rooftop staring at the building where his fourth team member was potentially being held hostage, while the other two appeared to be in the middle of some weird family spat.

All in all, Shikamaru's first outing as team lead could be summed up by one word: _troublesome_. Stereotypical and cliché as it was, the Nara clan's favorite word fit the situation perfectly. He just really hoped it wouldn't escalate to a new word: _disastrous_.

"If we're lucky, she got jumped by some of Tsunade's debt collectors," he thought aloud, earning surprised looks.

"If we're _lucky_?" Sasuke repeated, his voice an agitated hiss. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Tsunade's notorious for taking on excessive loans to pay for her gambling habit. If some of her debt collectors saw Sakura with her, they might have thought they had some sort of relationship and thought they could use Sakura as ransom."

The look on Sasuke's face made it clear just how unlikely he thought that idea would work for them. "In _that_ case," he continued before Sasuke could launch into another rant, "we'd be able to negotiate Sakura's release pretty easily."

"If we're unlucky?" Masaru asked, and Shikamaru nearly grimaced.

"She's bait for our team." Both Uchiha tensed at that, looking a little paler at the notion and quickly averting their gazes back to the building in cold silence. It didn't take much imagination to think of _why_ someone would want them; between the last two loyal Uchiha and a clan heir, this particular team would be highly coveted for their genetic material. If they were going to go in, they needed to be _smart_ about it.

Shikamaru frowned as he started thinking over potential courses of action, falling so deep in thought he _almost_ didn't notice Sasuke suddenly stiffen, his face twisting with rage as his lips curled back in a snarl. " _You!_ " he hissed, and then leaped off the roof. As he bounded towards the warehouse Shikamaru and Masaru gave small starts, not expecting the movement, but quickly collected themselves as they took off in pursuit.

"Dammit Sasuke, slow down!" Shikamaru yelled as he and Masaru chased after him, mind already racing through what little information he possessed. Unknown enemy, but apparently familiar to Sasuke and _clearly_ someone he didn't like. That narrowed down the options, but Shikamaru wouldn't know most of those options since he didn't know Sasuke that well. He did know one option though, one he'd been briefed on before this mission, and he _really_ hoped he was wrong.

He didn't have much time to think on it though, because it only took a few seconds to catch up to the errant Uchiha. Sasuke barreled through the window, which fortunately for him had no glass, and the other two followed in quick suit. Upon touching the floor Shikamaru quickly assessed their surroundings— _storage room, no furniture except for a few candles, dusty boxes and spider webs covering the only doorway_ —before his gaze settled on the man in the center of the room.

Even with the dull glow of the candle to counteract the spreading darkness of dusk, Shikamaru couldn't make out many features. He wore all black clothing, the dark fabric blurring together in the shadows to form an undefined blob with the pants hems tightly wrapped around his shins with equally dark cloth. Even his hair was the same inky black as the shadowy walls behind him, blending into the shadows and impossible to define.

Really, the only thing that _did_ stand out was his mask. Deep, bloody crimson, with a single hole for the right eye and strange spiraling lines snaking around it.

As Shikamaru looked at the mask his stomach sank, his skin growing cold. "Dammit," he whispered, his hands clenching at his side. The man just tilted his head, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hey, everyone!" he greeted cheerily. "I've been waiting for you!" Masaru made a choking noise behind Shikamaru, but he couldn't look at him to see if anything was wrong because his attention was focused on the other Uchiha in the room.

"You _bastard_!" Sasuke roared, flinging a volley of kunai at the man as he lunged forward. The masked man easily sidestepped the projectiles' path, catching one by the loop on its end with his index finger.

"I missed you too Sasuke-chan," he commented lightly, spinning the kunai around his finger before tossing it into the air. He twisted to the side to avoid Sasuke as he barreled past, swinging an arm out at the same time so Sasuke's stomach collided with his fist. Sasuke gasped at the blow, all breath leaving him, and the man quickly shoved him backward.

Shikamaru moved on instinct, rushing forward to catch his teammate before he could hit the ground. He staggered as Sasuke fell into his open arms, grunting at the sudden addition in weight, and the Uchiha just sagged against him for a few seconds with a pained expression as he gasped for breath. The man just casually held out a hand to catch the kunai on its descent, giving it a twirl before slipping it into his kunai pouch. "Throwing stuff is _still_ rude though," he remarked casually, and then seemed to pause. "Wait, Masaru-chan, is that _you_? Your hair is so _short_!"

This time Shikamaru _did_ risk a look back at his other teammate, swiftly sliding his arms underneath Sasuke's armpits to lock him in place as he did so. Masaru looked much paler than usual, almost ghostly white as he stared at the stranger with wide, black eyes. He couldn't look for more than a few seconds before Sasuke started squirming in his grip, cursing loudly.

"STAY AWAY FROM HIM, YOU FUCKER!" he screamed. "DON'T YOU EVEN _LOOK_ AT HIM!"

"Sasuke, stop it!" Shikamaru yelled, grunting as he tightened his hold on the Uchiha. "He's _trying_ to rile you up!"

"Actually, I'm really not," the man interjected, sounding faintly amused. "I _really_ didn't expect him to have such a short fuse. It's... kinda sad, actually." As he mused aloud to himself Masaru stepped forward, inching closer to his teammates without taking his eyes off the man.

"Who is he?" he breathed to them.

"That's the bastard that kidnapped Kakashi in Wave!" Sasuke replied, still kicking and straining against Shikamaru's grip. "Let me _go_ already!"

"Sasuke, stand down," he ordered gruffly, even as Masaru recoiled in shock.

"Wait, WHAT?" he blurted, his voice rising several octaves higher than usual. He looked between them and the man several times, his eyes somehow even wider than before. "Y-you're...?"

"Guilty as charged," the man confirmed with a nod. "Wow, saying that feels a lot different when there's actually a crime involved. Although to be fair, I'd say Kakashi benefitted from it more than anything, but... still technically kidnapping."

"What do you mean he _benefitted from it_!?" Sasuke snapped, even as Shikamaru tensed, and the man tilted his head.

"Wait, you mean you don't know? Actually, I guess that makes sense, since it'd probably cause a lot more panic if it got out."

"Panic?" Masaru repeated, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion as he glanced at Shikamaru. Shikamaru just met his gaze evenly, swallowing thickly before turning to stare at the man. With a few swift motions he'd released Sasuke and shoved him back, positioning himself between him and the stranger with one hand angling for his kunai pouch.

"He experimented on Kakashi's Sharingan," he informed them tightly, and he could hear the twin intakes of breath from the Uchiha at the news. He'd been warned about this man during the initial briefing for this mission, even got shown a drawing of the mask created by Kakashi. The Hokage had been explicit about the secret's S-rank status, and had only given him the bare-bones details because Shikaku had advocated for his ability to keep it under wraps.

Apparently even the Uchiha had been kept in the dark about it, judging by their stunned reactions. "He... he _experimented_ on it?" Sasuke whispered, all his earlier rage gone and his voice left weak and shaky. "On—on _Kakashi_?"

"On... on Uncle Obito's eye...?" Masaru breathed, barely audible. The name Obito meant nothing to Shikamaru but he nodded anyway, his gaze fixed firmly on their enemy.

"Stay back, both of you," he ordered lowly. "This guy is above our pay grade, and he has a proven interest in the Sharingan."

"You make it sound so _sinister_ like that," the man commented. "I mean, I guess technically I do, but it's not an _abnormal_ level of interest. Heck, I'd say I'm more interested in Team _Seven_ than that. Otherwise I would've skipped the part with the princess and gone straight for you." Sasuke's breath audibly hitched as he recoiled, and Shikamaru could sense his chakra flare in tightly controlled aggravation.

At the exact same moment an almost inhuman screech cut through the air as a blurry blue form surged past him, charging at the man—but it wasn't Sasuke. Shikamaru could only watch in shock and disbelief as _Masaru_ shot forward, his eyes blazing bright, bloody red as he _screamed_.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!" he shrieked, swinging his fist at the man's face. The man quickly dodged out of the way and blocked a follow-up roundhouse kick with his forearm, shoving Masaru back. Masaru didn't lose momentum as he fell back, spinning around swinging his arm in a sweeping motion with his hand aimed for the man's neck. "IF THERE'S EVEN ONE HAIR OUT OF PLACE I WILL MURDER YOU!"

"Woah, touchy," he remarked, leaning back to avoid it. At the same time he ducked and spun, sweeping a leg out at Masaru's stomach to send him flying back. Clear fluid spewed from his mouth as he skidded back, only anchored to the ground by a swift infusion of chakra to his feet. Masaru didn't even wait to regain his breath before charging again, this time aiming low for his legs.

Shikamaru should probably intervene. Hell, Sasuke probably should step in too. But they just stood there and watched, too stunned by the sudden aggression on Masaru's part to react. Just minutes ago Shikamaru would have pegged Masaru as the more calm and rational of the two Uchiha; he'd never seen the boy even get _angry_ , his defiance usually manifested in blank stares or aggravated grumbling.

Clearly, he'd misjudged _something_ about him.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH A HAIR ON HER HEAD!" Masaru screamed as he launched blow upon blow at the man, twisting and contorting his body in various ways to aim for increasingly creative spots. A knife-hand aimed at the jugular, a knee aimed for the groin, an attempt to hook an ankle around the back of the man's knees to pull him off-balance. Each blow was dodged artfully and smoothly, the man showing barely any effort before grabbing Masaru by the shoulders and flipping him over.

Twisting even as he fell, Masaru hissed in pain but then quickly staggered to his feet, his teeth bared in a ferocious and vicious snarl as he began flashing through hand seals Shikamaru swiftly recognized from their training as the ignition jutsu for Foxfire. Three seals in the man suddenly _vanished_ , just blinked out of existence, and then he was suddenly behind Masaru grabbing both of his wrists and jerking his arms apart.

Only then did the shock wear off, Shikamaru staggering as his stomach violently lurched. _Shit!_ "MASARU!" Sasuke shouted, while Shikamaru mentally cursed himself for his inattentiveness as panic started to set in. The rage faded from Masaru's face as realization of his predicament set in, his head turning to stare at the man in wide-eyed horror.

"You shouldn't do that, Masaru," the man told him, his voice eerily calm and devoid of the earlier playfulness. "You'd just burn your hands." Masaru didn't respond, just visibly sucked in a breath as he stared up at him. A long second seemed to stretch on forever, time seeming to freeze as the pair stared at each other. Then, just as suddenly the man shoved Masaru forward, hurling him right at a charging Sasuke so that they crashed into the ground in a pile of splayed limbs.

At that point the man turned his gaze to Shikamaru, making him stiffen. "You shouldn't have been standing by," he informed him solemnly. "You're the commanding officer on this mission, you should have stepped in the second his emotions got the best of him rather than let him engage an unknown entity while emotionally compromised. It's your first mission so I'll give you a pass, but if I _really_ wanted to hurt you guys, I could have easily killed him just now."

The warning chilled Shikamaru's blood, making his skin feel cold and clammy, but even so the inflection of the man's words didn't skip him. "You sound like you're trying to give me advice," he remarked coolly, even as his hands trembled at his sides, and the man hummed.

"That's because I am. I might not be able to wear my hitai-ate openly anymore, but I'm still a member of the Hidden Leaf. It'd be a crime for me _not_ to give one of my adorable little kouhai critique on how to improve. That said, your first report as a chuunin squad leader is going to be really messy. I mean, letting the team split up and leaving one member alone and vulnerable?" He clicked his tongue in a chiding manner as he shook his head. "Really, that's unprofessional and dangerous. You're leading a team of three genin in unknown territory with no jounin backup, you should be more cautious!"

Shikamaru winced at the reprimand, already fully aware of his mistakes so far. He'd been mentally reviewing the potential report every step of the way following Sasuke and Masaru along the trail of pink hairs. He could think of six different ways he could have handled it better so far, and he'd probably have thought of more if not for the urgency of Sakura's situation.

"Where is she?" he asked lowly, willing his voice to remain level.

"You probably should have asked that earlier, too," the man remarked dryly. "But to be fair, Sasuke-chan _did_ kind of launch an immediate attack so you didn't really get a chance to, so I'll let that slide too. Anyways, I _was_ gonna have her here, but then I realized that would be too easy, so I decided not to. In other words!" He clapped his gloved hands together, almost certainly grinning behind his mask. "The princess is in another castle!"

A brief silence fell, even the two tangled Uchiha stopping their grunting and grumbled arguments as they all stared at him in shock. "What," Sasuke deadpanned from beneath Masaru.

"See, you got one thing right: I _did_ want her for bait," the man responded cheerily. "But I was going for more of the stalling variety. Sooo, you still have a bit of searching to do!" He sounded so _sunny_ when he said it, like it was a big joke. Shikamaru just stared at him in silence as he processed his words, the gears in his brain slowly grinding to a halt to change tracks.

Then he heard a soft, muted buzz, making him stiffen. His eyes darted to the side for a brief second to see a tiny black beetle flitter towards him, the beat of its wings almost perfectly silent as it landed on his arm.

Almost instantly he relaxed, the smallest of smirks tugging on the corner of his mouth as he turned to face the man. "Actually, I don't think we do," he said, a smug note slipping into his voice, and the man tilted his head inquisitively.

"What's that? Are you saying you're going to give up on your teammate? Seriously, what _do_ they teach in Konoha these days?" Shikamaru didn't fall for the taunt, his smirk growing just a little larger as he let himself fall into a slouch.

"Did you _really_ think Konoha would send its _only_ two Sharingan users out alone with only a single, recently-promoted chuunin?" he asked dryly, inclining his head to the small beetle on his arm. Silence fell as all eyes in the room locked on the tiny _kikaichu_ , none of them speaking for a long while.

"...Huh," the man finally said. "Guess I really should've seen that coming."

Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving them alone.

Halfway across town in another abandoned warehouse a certain masked man stood suddenly stiff and alert, ignoring how Sakura scrambled back in alarm as his head turned to peer over his shoulder at the doorway. "Well," he remarked flatly. "This is a surprise."

Two cloaked figures slipped out of the shadows, one with a white porcelain tiger mask and the other a monkey. The man with the blood red mask turned to face them more fully, dipping his head in greeting. "Hello, ANBU-san."

* * *

 **I am so sorry for the delay! Last Thursday I had a major project due so I couldn't post, on Friday and Saturday I had work, and then on Sunday I woke up with the start of the cold from hell. I'm not kidding, it's been a bad week for me, on Tuesday I was just a vegetable. Yesterday was also bad because I got my mom sick too, so our house is just full of coughing. On top of that I was kinda iffy on some parts of this chapter, mainly how to end it. I almost combined it with the start of the next one, but that became a 7k+ word behemoth so I decided against it.  
**

 **But on the bright side, while I couldn't focus on writing/editing I COULD focus on finishing something else:  
**

 **Echoes of Light now has a new cover!**

 **This is a fun one and I have a lot of thoughts on it, but I'll keep them to myself for now. Drawing Sakura and Hinata was fun. If you want to see it in full, I'm also posting it to Deviant Art, under the same username as here (cannibalisticapple). That said, I'm not sure how long I'll use it. It's relevant to the next portion of the story, but after that I think I might change back to our masked friend, or maybe something else entirely. I dunno, we'll see.  
**

 **Anyways, thanks to all the reviewers: Reebajee (that is a LOT of good omake ideas), xXxSpades231Xx (all will come clear, though funny you should mention the Sasuke retrieval arc… Also Masaru would probably look ridiculous in an Akatsuki cloak right now but after he gets older he'd look pretty cool and intimidating), May525 (good theories, though not quite right. Also, Fu has a giant beetle bijuu, and Masaru has fire. Thus, Firefly.), and Darksoul (Me estás dando ideas, malas ideas... Podrío ser malvado. :3), Dreckman (Welcome back! And yep, this will definitely have some long-lasting repercussions for Sakura.), and Guest (I did change the cover, but like I said above it's not a permanent change).**

 **Also a more general comment: I am seriously amused at how many people thought he'd give Sakura the Sharingan. I mean, a LOT of people thought he'd give Sakura the Sharingan.**

 **Anyways, that's all for now. I'll see you all in two weeks!**


	53. Chapter 50: Unseen Puzzle Pieces

**A/N: A brief note before I begin: at this point I have the draft of EoL up to Chapter 54 for sure, and I'm currently working on Chapter 55. The main takeaway is this: _Echoes of Light will be back to updating once a week._ Don't know what day yet, but you can expect the next chapter next Sunday at the earliest! Anyways, enjoy~**

* * *

Chapter 50

* * *

" _Sometimes you don't even realize you're putting together puzzle pieces until you can see the full picture._ "

* * *

As far as missions went, eliminating a drug ring was probably one of the easier ones to fall onto ANBU's plate.

Tenzo had lost count of the number of jobs like this he'd done over the years. Drug ring takedowns tended to fall into a smooth and easy rhythm, and the footwork in the investigation for this one had already been done before the invasion. They'd identified the key figures and located the production lab, all that remained was to simply eliminate the leaders and discreetly destroy the lab. When partnered with Torune, his most common partner for two-man teams, the job was guaranteed to be a breeze.

Among their targets would be a member of a traveling merchant caravan, who'd been identified as one of the major peddlers. It was because of the preliminary checks into his background that Konoha became aware that _another_ member of that caravan had come across an interesting item: a tessen believed to belong to Uzumaki Mito.

After the chaos of the invasions had thinned Konoha's numbers, the Third Hokage had seen a golden opportunity. He needed to get the Uchiha out of the village until Gaara's departure, but he couldn't spare any jounin. He _also_ needed to test a newly appointed chuunin's capacity to lead, without significantly detracting from the village's active forces to supervise him.

In short, he gave the ANBU pair sent to destroy the drug ring the secondary objective to supervise the genin squad retrieving Mito's tessen and protect the Sharingan. A clever use of limited resources, though in hindsight Tenzo could admit they'd made some mistakes in their handling of that objective.

In the present, he and Torune stared down the man he knew to be Kakashi's kidnapper, their faces blank even behind their masks. Sakura released a strangled noise of equal parts distress and relief from behind her kidnapper, her body still tightly coiled and tense as she stared at them. "A-ANBU," she stuttered, her voice choked and shaky. Tenzo spared her a brief glance just long enough to assess the girl for any visible injuries before focusing on the masked man separating them once more, his eyes narrowing warily.

He had been one of the very few briefed on the full circumstances behind Kakashi's kidnapping, and he'd burned the drawing of the mask his senpai had produced deep into his mind. Kakashi had never seen the man in action—he'd been kidnapped after passing out from chakra exhaustion—so they had no idea of this man's actual combat ability. But his interactions with Kakashi had established him as a dangerous and skilled individual who should not be underestimated, if only because all signs pointed to him being a former Leaf ninja.

As if reading his thoughts the man shifted his weight to one foot, his head rocking to the side in a gesture of inquisitiveness. "Wow, Konoha really didn't hold back when choosing the backup," he commented lightly. "Good to know someone's looking out for this group after all. I actually thought the Hokage let them all wander alone into a potentially dangerous area without any supervision. Happy to see I was wrong."

 _Head tilts to convey curiosity in absence of facial expression to denote emotion, delayed timing suggests target may not be used to wearing mask,_ Tenzo noted, filing the detail away for potential later usage. Aloud he said, "On orders of the Third Hokage, you are under arrest for two counts of kidnapping and tampering with a kekkei genkai, and taken into custody and transported to Konoha immediately."

"Aaand I just remembered why ANBU are no fun in uniform," the man muttered under his breath, and then straightened with a sigh. "Not gonna lie, I didn't plan for a major fight today. I'd still prefer to avoid one, especially if the other guy's an Aburame like I think."

The fact he specifically singled out Torune for that suspicion raised alarm bells in Tenzo's mind, harkening back memories of Kakashi's comments about his apparent familiarity with him. Mentally he added another mark to the possibility of him being former ANBU, but he kept his voice bland and inflectionless as he offered, "Should you choose not to comply peacefully, we are authorized to use lethal force to apprehend you. It would be in your best interests to submit yourself to custody peacefully."

"Sorry, but no can do. See, if I go back to Konoha, I'll probably be assassinated in a cell before interrogation. Or between sessions. Actually, I might not even make it _to_ T &I if that guy figures out who I am in transit," he added in a perfect deadpan. "Yeah. Not too keen on _actually_ dying anymore, especially at the hands of _that_ bastard." His voice took on an agitated hiss, practically spitting the last two words. _Apparent hostile relationship with someone in Konoha, may merit later investigation._

"ANBU-san!" Sakura suddenly yelled, grabbing their attention. She shakily rose to her feet behind the man, her face tight with resolve even as her legs shook. "H-he's up to something! I don't know what he's planning, but he said we were in his way and he captured me to be a distraction!" Tenzo tensed slightly at that, turning to the stranger with an even more critical eye. The man just twisted his head to peer at her over his shoulder, his shoulders slumping in dismay.

"Really, Sakura-chan?" he deadpanned. "You're tattling that fast? And here I thought we'd bonded." Apparently that snapped her out of her stupor a bit, her eye twitching in irritation.

"You kidnapped my sensei and held him prisoner for five days, and then you _kidnapped me_!" she snapped angrily. "When the hell did we bond!?"

"Oh, come _on_ , I told you a story! That was nice!"

"Nice— _You used intimidation tactics on me!_ " Sakura seemed even more furious now, visibly grinding her teeth. _Guess she's fine after all,_ Tenzo noted with minor relief, before focusing on her words. Her kidnapping had been a distraction tactic? That lined up with the trail of pink hairs leading _away_ from her actual location. From the way she worded it, he thought it safe to assume the man had been referring to plans set in place _before_ their arrival, which meant the boys likely wouldn't be targets.

That just raised the question of _what_ he had planned. The only events of interest in this town would be the drug ring and the poker tournament that had lured Tsunade, and he had a feeling this man wasn't the type to involve himself with a bunch of civilian drug lords or gamblers. While he mulled over that, Torune apparently decided asking could wait, because the next thing he knew the Aburame had surged forward towards the distracted enemy.

Even in the dim candle light Tenzo could see a cloud of purple stretching across his bare hands, swiping his hand at the apparently distracted man. The enemy spun around and dodged out of the way just before Torune's fingers could brush his neck, seeming to just _vanish_ before reappearing several feet away. "Woah, woah, woah, what the hell?" he nearly shouted as Torune whirled to face him. "Are... are those _kikaichu_!?"

Torune didn't respond, the mass of purple rippling across his hand as he launched forward with another punch. The man dodged it with a yelp, leaping into the air to jump over a sweeping kick from the Aburame. His toes had been tinted purple and a small cloud started to stretch upwards from it, barely brushing the soles of the other man's sandals before receding back to his skin.

While Torune continued to launch blow after blow Tenzo body-flickered towards Sakura, grabbing her arm to steady her as she startled at his sudden appearance. "Are you injured?" he questioned briskly, and the girl looked at him in shock for a moment before rapidly shaking her head.

"N-no, I'm fine," she reported, obviously trying to steady her voice. Behind them the masked man made a sudden noise of realization.

"Holy shit, those are _rinkaichu_!" he yelled, and Tenzo tensed, silently cursing their luck. Torune didn't respond as he fell back to wait by Tenzo and Sakura, but Tenzo could see the tension in his shoulders. Very few people knew rinkaichu even existed, not because it was a secret but simply because no one else in the Aburame clan could use them. Only Torune could safely host the nano-sized insects, the incredibly poisonous beetles able to kill with a mere touch. And since he'd spent most of his life in ANBU, not many people knew he existed. So the fact the man could identify them at _all_ just erased any doubts about his former Konoha allegiance.

"Rinkaichu," the masked man murmured, standing straight as he faced them with a much more alert posture than before. "That means you're..." He trailed off and hummed to himself. "Shit. I _really_ don't want to fight you now."

"Then turn yourself in peacefully," Torune told him bluntly. "If you choose to continue resisting, I will be forced to use my strongest poison techniques." The man huffed a small laugh, shaking his head slightly.

"No, no, that's not why I don't want to fight you," he told him. "It's just, well... Ah—?" His head snapped to the wall, suddenly alert, and then it _exploded_.

Sakura shrieked as debris and rubble burst towards them, Tenzo reflexively rushing through the hand seals to produce a wooden wall to shield them from the worst of it. A green blur zoomed into sight from the dust cloud and raced towards the masked man, who spun to face it just in time for Senju Tsunade to aim a solid punch to his gut.

Stunned silence fell as they watched him _soar_ across the room, Tsunade's pigtails and jacket still rippling in the breeze as her amber eyes flashed furiously. His body slammed into the far wall with a loud _thwack_ , the plaster sinking in and fractures instantly spreading outwards like a spider web. He sank to the ground with a groan, wheezing and hacking violently as he clutched his stomach. "F-frick, that didn't even c-connect..."

The female Sannin just glared at him with a ferocious scowl, her pigtails and jacket still settling down from her large burst of speed. "You are a fucking moron," she snarled, and the man groaned.

"N-noted," he gasped, doubling over in pain. Tenzo didn't waste the opening, flashing through more hand seals to cause wooden pillars to erupt from the ground around him. The second he finished the last seal the man sprung to his feet though, leaping into the air to avoid the snaking wooden tendrils. He tapped his foot atop the tip of one to use it as a springboard to launch towards the ceiling, flipping mid-air so he landed foot-first and anchoring himself with chakra.

Tenzo started to run through more hand seals, still intent on restraining the man, not faltering even as he heard Sakura gasp behind him. _Well, so much for secret identities,_ he thought dryly as he sprouted _more_ wooden pillars to try to catch him. This time the man just released his chakra from his feet, letting himself fall to the ground before vanishing mid-air. He reappeared on the floor several feet away, much closer to the doorway.

"Why are you even _here_?" he shouted towards Tsunade, who just scoffed and folded her arms over her chest with a scowl.

"You kidnapped a genin and because of that her friends interrupted my poker tournament!" she responded hotly, her amber eyes cold and unsympathetic. "It's not like I had anything better to do!" The man seemed to pause at that, his head tilting to the side.

"Aww, you DO care about her!" he chirped, and laughed as he swiftly blinked out of existence again as Tsunade surged forward once more, vanishing just in time to avoid the undoubtedly rib-shattering kick she swung his way. Sakura made another strangled gasping sound, but Tenzo decided she was probably fine as he surveyed the room for their opponent. He could still feel the man's presence there, and he swiftly spied the shadowy figure standing on the ceiling in the far corner.

Once more he began running through hand seals but just before he could finish the man suddenly perked up, blinking onto the floor just as wooden pillars erupted where he'd been standing. "Oh, look at that. Good timing. Sakura-chan!" The pink-haired girl winced as he clapped and turned his head to face her, shrinking back even as Torune moved to position himself in front of her. "Pop quiz! What happens when a shadow clone disperses?"

Sakura flinched and swallowed, suddenly looking very anxious as her eyes widened in realization. "They... they send the memories back to the original," she answered shakily, and the man bobbed his head.

"Yep!" he confirmed sunnily. "I knew you'd get that one after everything that happened in Wave. You've got a pretty bright mind there, it's probably the best tool in your arsenal. So with that said, it's been lovely seeing you all again, but it's time for me to go. Later!" He waved and then just like that he was gone, blinking out of existence for a final time.

A brief silence fell over the room as they stared at the space he'd occupied, the only sounds their labored breathing and the high-pitched chirps of cicadas filtering through the hole left in the wall. The air felt emptier than the other times he'd vanished, leaving no doubts in their minds that he had left this time for good. Slowly Tenzo felt the tension seep from his shoulders, shifting to stand a bit straighter.

Then Sakura released a choked-sounding sob and collapsed to her knees, sobbing hysterically as she hugged herself. Tenzo and Torune flinched, having no idea how to handle a crying teenager, but before they could even think of how to react Tsunade strode across the gap and crouched next to the pink-haired girl.

"Take deep breaths," she told Sakura, her voice surprisingly soft yet still firm as she placed a hand on her back. "It's okay now, he's gone and he won't be back." As she spoke she shot Tenzo a pointed look, and he gave her a brief nod before signaling for Torune to follow him. The two ANBU silently disappeared in a body flicker, leaving the Sannin to deal with soothing the traumatized genin.

* * *

Masaru felt tired.

One hour had passed since the disastrous confrontation with the masked man, and it found everyone back in the hotel room, huddled on the beds in tense silence. The sheer stress from the past few hours had obviously eroded their energy, leaving them all tired and listless. Sakura fared the worst though, for understandable reasons. Dark bags rimmed her eyes as she sat hunched on the bed, her eyes red and puffy and her nose a bit pinker than usual.

Sasuke and Masaru had taken up perch on either side of the female, Sasuke's posture tense and rigid as he exuded a protective air, while Shikamaru leaned against the door. For his part Masaru just sagged tiredly, mentally and physically exhausted. While Sasuke may have been the one to charge into the situation, Masaru was the one who'd let his emotions completely consume him and he'd gotten knocked around like a rag doll for his efforts. Nothing had been broken, but he knew he'd wake up with nasty bruises once morning came.

Seated on the bed opposite from them sat Tsunade, her arms folded across her chest with a stern frown, while a worried-looking Shizune sat at her side clutching Tonton in her lap. Sasuke had been alternating between glaring at the blonde woman and checking over Sakura since they'd all returned, but Tsunade just pointedly ignored him and focused her attention on the pink-haired girl.

It just added to the heavy pressure that seemed to saturate the air, making Masaru want to squirm uncomfortably. Judging by the concerned gleam in Shizune's eyes she could sense it too.

Shikamaru was the one to finally break the silence, breathing a loud sigh to ease them into the reintroduction of noise. "So to recap," he started, "that guy told you we were 'in the way,' and he kidnapped you as a distraction. " Sakura winced, biting down on her lip before bobbing her head in confirmation.

"He knew Kakashi-sensei's rule," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "About abandoning comrades being worse than scum. A-and, that story..." She trailed off, looking shaken. The young kunoichi had yet to share just _what_ that "story" entailed, only confirming its connection to the trail of hairs, but clearly it'd taken its toll on her for some reason.

Masaru swallowed, his hands balling into fists on his lap. "He wasn't after us," he declared tightly. "It was just a case of wrong time, wrong place." The sullen silence held a note of grim agreement with this assessment. Everything had been meant to buy time: from luring them to a false destination with a shadow clone waiting to engage them, to the witty banter used to trigger their emotions.

The fact none of them knew _what_ that plan entailed was what made them _really_ uncomfortable. The man was an unknown element in every sense of the word; Shikamaru probably had some ideas, but at the moment he didn't seem inclined to share them, too busy ruminating over his own failings. Everyone was doing a bit of that; the number of mistakes they'd made tonight was atrocious.

After a few moments Tsunade snorted, her lips curling back in distaste as she leered at the downtrodden genin. "Are you all just going to keep moping around?" she grumbled, and rose to her feet. "Know what? Screw it. I didn't skip the tournament to waste my time hanging around a bunch of sulky brats. I'm going back to the bar to get a drink before it closes."

Sasuke's eyes flashed at that, sharply shifting to stand with clear intent to say _something_ , but Sakura quickly grabbed his shoulder and jerked him backwards. "Sasuke, don't," she implored quietly, turning pleading eyes on him. His lips pressed together in a tight frown but he clamped his mouth shut, and after a moment Sakura released her grip and her hand fell limply back onto her lap. Across from them Tsunade just surveyed him with narrowed eyes, clearly unimpressed with his show of temper.

Her amber gaze briefly flickered towards Masaru then, and for a brief second their eyes met, making him wince at the sudden flash of... _something_ in them. Not exactly cold or hateful, but definitely not happy.

It vanished and Tsunade's mouth tightened as she spun on her heel, stalking towards the door. Shikamaru moved aside to allow her to pass in silence, and she slammed it shut behind her with an echoing thud. A brief silence fell after that, Sasuke silently seething while Sakura just stared at her lap morosely. Masaru frowned as he watched them, and spared a brief glance to Shizune to find her sporting a similar frown. Even Tonton's ears lay flat against her head as the pig stared at the closed door sullenly.

The dark-haired woman seemed to hesitate, but then she leaned forward with a small sigh. "Please don't mind Lady Tsunade," she said, an apologetic frown on her face. "She's just really stressed out right now."

"That's not the word I would have picked," Shikamaru muttered dryly as Sasuke twitched and grit his teeth, and Shizune's shoulders slumped as she sighed yet again.

"I know. You need to understand that Lady Tsunade is only this way because she's seen so many people die. She served as a medic through the Second War, and during that time she lost her younger brother and had to watch her boyfriend die without being able to save him. Shinobi die all the time, but losing a patient is always hard for a medic. I know she's been really rough and harsh with you, but that's because she's just tired of seeing people die so young."

Masaru didn't miss the light wince Sakura gave at the last sentence, or how her teeth dug into her bottom lip even deeper. Clearly the words meant something to her, but she didn't say anything. After a while with no response Shizune seemed to accept the conversation had ended and got up, scooping Tonton into her arms. "We should go now. She'll probably get drunk and do something stupid if I leave her alone tonight. The tournament got rescheduled for tomorrow night so we'll still be in town, so feel free to find us tomorrow if you want to talk."

"Thanks, Shizune-san," Sakura muttered, offering her a weak smile. Shizune returned it with a small and worried one of her own before turning and leaving. Once she departed, the group sat in silence for a while, none of them in the mood to talk.

"We should probably go over what went wrong," Shikamaru finally said, and the group groaned softly.

"Everything," Sakura replied feebly, and Masaru moaned in agreement, hanging his head in shame.

"Splitting up was the first mistake," Sasuke declared flatly. The others just sighed, knowing it came more from his continued irritation with Sakura's choice than anything else, but they couldn't really argue it.

"You two losing your cool like that didn't help either," Shikamaru pointed out, eying Masaru in particular. "What the hell was that, anyway? I didn't peg you for the kind of person to have a short temper."

"He really isn't," Sasuke agreed lowly, giving Masaru a pointed look, and the brunet winced and sank into the mattress, averting his eyes with a frown.

"...It's... complicated," he hedged, offering a half-hearted shrug. How could he even begin to explain it? The things that went through his mind when he saw that mask, and heard what he did to Kakashi... He flinched at the mere thought, grimacing as he offered, "I guess something just snapped when I heard he messed with Uncle Obito's eye." Sasuke winced at the mention as well, his sour scowl fading briefly as he quickly looked away.

The idea of someone messing with their doujutsu made Masaru feel physically sick. Doujutsu users hated letting _anyone_ near their eyes; the Uchiha and Hyuuga barely trusted even medics from their own clans to examine them. His mother had only gotten swift approval from the Uchiha as its dedicated ophthalmologist after she retired from active duty because she'd already spent several years studying it, and they also trusted and respected her due to her war contributions.

Worse though, Kakashi had _Obito's_ eye. That had been a dying gift from Masaru's uncle, a final heroic act that had helped guide his teammate back to the right path. Tampering with that eye felt particularly like sacrilege, and the thought of someone poking it made his head swirl with nausea.

Next to him Sakura sucked in a breath, shaking her head. "I screwed up worse," she admitted bleakly. "I... On the way back tonight, I think we bumped shoulders in the street, and then I went out of my way to follow him. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have been caught. He grabbed me when I was alone in an alley."

"Why the hell would you follow him?" Sasuke blurted, staring at her incredulously, and Sakura buried her face in her hands in aggravation.

"I don't even _know_ anymore! I wasn't even sure it _was_ him! I just had this stupid feeling, ' _hey, it might be that crazy masked guy who kidnapped Kakashi-sensei_ ' and then for some stupid reason I decided to just follow him! And because of that I basically screwed up everything and now this mission's gone to hell, all because of _me_!"

"Actually, all things considered, this doesn't even really count as a failure," Shikamaru cut in, drawing everyone's attentions. "Our mission has nothing to do with that guy, and in the end he didn't even show any actual hostility."

"No _hostility_?" Sasuke repeated, sharply rising to his feet to pin the Nara with a dark glare. "He _kidnapped Sakura and beat up Masaru_!"

"If he'd been hostile, Sakura wouldn't be here now," Shikamaru countered calmly, making Sasuke and Sakura both tense and Masaru suck in a sharp breath. The Nara eyed the trio on the bed evenly as he spoke, his eyes narrow and calculating. "All of us made some giant mistake tonight that could have gotten ourselves killed. He had all kinds of openings, but he never made any moves to hurt us. If anything," he added, gaze sliding towards Masaru, "he _prevented_ it when we lost control."

Masaru winced at the remark, grimacing as he unwillingly glanced to his bare hands. Back during that rage-fueled assault he'd nearly used Foxfire on instinct, forgetting he didn't have the seal-reinforced gloves. Blowing a fireball directly onto his bare hands would have severely burned them; even if he'd been able to get medical attention right away, had the man not stopped him, then...

Masaru didn't want to _think_ about it.

Darting a glance to the side, he noticed Sakura looked even more tense than before, her teeth digging into her bottom lip even deeper as she stared at her lap. "This is a mess," she declared thickly, and Masaru swallowed before nodding in agreement.

"There's one other thing we need to talk about," Shikamaru added, turning to survey Sasuke. "The scene in the bar."

Both boys winced at that, sporting identical grimaces at the reminder of Sasuke's outburst towards Tsunade. It had definitely been hanging over them for the majority of the night. "There's nothing to talk about," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, while Sakura peered at them curiously.

"What happened in the bar?" she asked, having only been given a brief summary of their encounter with the masked man and the trail of pink hairs.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke bit out.

"I beg to differ," Shikamaru countered flatly. "I'm no expert on this stuff, but you've been angry and moody for almost the entire mission, and I get the feeling it wasn't just about Sakura leaving. Whatever happened between you two isn't any of my business, but it's obviously still bothering you and left you emotionally compromised—and as team lead, that part _is_ my business."

Sasuke just scowled, pointedly looking away, while Masaru just slumped on the bed shamefully. Leave it to a Nara to pick up on that sort of stuff stuff, he'd just chalked up Sasuke's moodiness to being mad at Sakura and Tsunade for some reason. But of _course_ it was never that simple though, emotions always had to be so freaking _complicated_.

(It occurred to him he might be an awful cousin.)

After a long while with neither of them replying Shikamaru sighed, pushing off the door. "Look, I don't need to deal with the details as long as it gets solved. I need to go find the ANBU agents and review tonight and go over the plan for tomorrow. Sakura, you should—"

He was cut off by a frantic pounding on the door, making them all jump and Sakura yelp lightly. Even Shikamaru startled at the sound, jumping away and producing a kunai on reflex as he spun to face it. "Hello?" a voice called from outside. "Is anyone in there? Please, I heard there are ninja here!" The group exchanged wary glances as the pounding continued, now on guard. Nodding at them, Shikamaru cautiously edged back to the door, while the others discreetly pulled out kunai and shuriken in preparation for a fight.

Their preparations proved unnecessary, because when Shikamaru opened the door they found a scraggly-looking man standing there, obviously civilian. He nearly stumbled as his fist collided with air, but quickly gathered himself and looked at Shikamaru desperately. "You're—you're the Leaf ninja?" he stammered anxiously, eying his vest wide-eyed. "The—the ones who caught those bandits a couple days ago?"

"Yeah, we are," Shikamaru drawled, crossing his arms. "What do you want?"

"I—we, I'm, I'm from a caravan," the man explained breathlessly, clearly frazzled and struggling to gather his thoughts. "Staying at the White Orchid Inn." The three teens on the bed perked to attention at that, recognizing the name as the inn the merchant caravan had been scheduled to stay at. Oblivious to the change in atmosphere the man continued, "We checked in this afternoon and went out for dinner, but when we got back—we, our room—it was messed up, and-and—"

He stopped short, taking several labored breaths before blurting, "We were robbed!"

Tense silence fell at the loud exclamation, a small trickle of dread creeping up their spines as they processed his words. Before anyone could respond Sakura was suddenly on her feet and storming out of the room, nearly knocking the civilian down as she shoved past him. Masaru and Sasuke were on their feet instantly, chasing after her with Shikamaru even before fully registering what just happened.

They slid into the hallway just in time to see Sakura slam her fist on one of the neighboring doors, yelling at the top of her lungs. "YUZU! YUZU-SAN, OPEN UP!" Masaru, Sasuke and Shikamaru exchanged incredulous looks, ignoring the confused civilian scrambling to his feet behind them.

"Who the hell is Yuzu?" Sasuke hissed, and when Shikamaru shrugged it occurred to Masaru they'd never actually heard her name. He remembered the redhead easily, she'd been the very first one they interviewed about the bandits, and after that they'd seen her around a... few times...

Chilling realization slowly washed over him as his thoughts gradually slid to a halt. Bit by bit the memories began slotting into place, pieces of a puzzle he didn't realize existed now suddenly fitting together.

 _"And room four has a single girl, Yuzu," he said as he looked over the list of guests, "about our age and here while her friends handle some business outside town—"_

 _"_ _You should go to the Three Sparrows Bar. You'll find something... interesting there—"_

 _"She followed me yesterday," Sasuke complained. "She's ridiculously hard to lose for a civilian—"_

Even as he began to grasp the bare edges of the puzzle Sakura's fist lit up with chakra, slamming _through_ the door with an angry roar. Splinters exploded from the hole and the group reflexively dodged the spray of wooden chunks, while Sakura wrenched her hand free and shook it before peering through the new hole.

Cursing loudly, she spun and took off for the stairs, leaving the others to chase after her. As they passed Masaru glanced at the door, only able to glimpse a neatly made bed through the hole. "What the hell is going on?" Sasuke demanded impatiently, and Masaru swallowed.

"Do you remember that redhead who was following Sasuke?" he asked reluctantly. "And who told us to go to the Three Sparrows Bar?" The others looked at him in confusion, but to his credit Shikamaru quickly realized where his thoughts were going, his eyes widening before shooting forward with a newfound determination.

They reached the lobby to see Sakura practically _flying_ towards the counter, where the old innkeeper regarded them with a startled look. "What on earth is going on?" she gasped. "I could hear you yelling from down here, and then that horrendous crash!" Sakura didn't respond to the query, slamming her hands onto the counter and leaning forward.

"Room four, Yuzu," she started breathlessly. "Red hair and glasses, our age. _Where is she?_ "

"That sweet girl?" the innkeeper asked, frowning. "She checked out this afternoon while you all were out. Why do you ask?" Once again Sakura remained silent, her face draining of color while everyone froze behind her in cold realization. No one begrudged Sakura when her knees gave out and she threw her head back with a loud scream of frustration.

* * *

Across town a redheaded girl walked through the nearly empty streets, hitching her backpack over her shoulder while surreptitiously glancing around. No one was out at this hour, the streets darker than usual as a cloud drifted across the moon. Something shifted in the shadows of a nearby alleyway and she jumped, staggering back with a muffled gasp, but then a figure beckoned from the darkness. She relaxed as she recognized the gloved hand, breathing a sigh through her teeth before grimacing.

"Did you _really_ have to do that!?" she hissed as she scurried towards the alley. "You're totally camouflaged by the shadows!"

"Have to say, it does make me feel even more ninja-like," came the cheerful response from the shadows. "You should try it sometime, Karin." Karin just scowled, crossing her arms with a huff.

"Are you seriously an adult?" she questioned irritably, and the masked man laughed, raising his hands in mock-surrender.

"You got me. I stopped aging when I turned fifteen. Anyways, back to business, I heard you got it." Karin sighed softly, slowly nodding as her stance relaxed.

"Yeah, I did," she confirmed. "I still can't believe how easy it was. I've never broken into a room and _stole_ something before, I thought it'd be harder."

"Well, I mean, you _are_ a genin," the man remarked dryly, sounding faintly amused. "That automatically gives you more skills than a civilian merchant. Plus your sensor skills give you an edge in avoiding witnesses."

"Yeah, I know, but still! I only ever really sat on the sidelines before!"

"That's because you had a stupid teacher who had no idea how to help you use your full potential. Can I see it?"

"Oh, uh, right, hold on." She shifted her bag to lean against her side so she could unzip it, rooting through it before pulling out a folded fan. The dark metal glinted in what little moonlight reached the alley as she clumsily fumbled with it, struggling for a moment due to being unfamiliar with fans. Spreading it open revealed a complex pattern of dark markings decorating both sides, the elegant scrawl spanning the fabric and even crossing the metal ribs.

The man let out a low whistle as he studied it, nodding his head in appreciation. "Nice. Fireproof, waterproof, and even some extra durability for the fabric so it won't rip if it gets hit with a kunai. She could've used it like a gunbai, except this one actually folds. Ooh, and that seal there amplifies fuuton techniques and heats up the wind! So if she channeled chakra into it, it'd totally roast everyone in its path, like a microwave."

"...Right." Half of that went over her head (gunbai were those giant, solid things that looked like shields, weren't they?), and to her the markings mostly looked like a bunch of scribbles. Elegant and fancy-looking scribbles, but still scribbles. Karin pushed the thought aside, pressing him anxiously, "But you're saying this is the real deal?" She had no particular interest in Mito or even fuinjutsu, but she wanted any trace of her heritage she could get.

"I'm no expert, but that is almost certainly Uzumaki fuinjutsu," the man declared with a nod, and her shoulders slumped with a giant sigh of relief as she folded it up.

"Oh, thank kami. After all that trouble I'd be pissed if this was a knock-off."

"Hey, you weren't the one who had to kidnap someone and get punched by Tsunade!" the man countered teasingly, and Karin had a sudden case of whiplash, nearly dropping the fan.

"...W-wait, you did _what_!?" she stammered, her face rapidly paling.

"Details can wait. With that said, we should probably get out of here before the ANBU get my trail. One of them had kinkaichu, and I'd rather not risk hanging around long enough to get bugged." He snorted at the pun, while Karin just stared at him in pure horror and exasperation.

"Remind me again why I defected from Kusa to go with you?" she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Probably because we promised to never use you as our living first aid kit," the man responded, and she grimaced.

"Right..." Hard to forget that. For all his apparent silliness and immaturity, at least this guy never forced her to let him bite her to heal his injuries like everyone did in Grass. That particular trait had caused her far more trouble than good, the countless bite-shaped scars littering her body doomed her to a life of long-sleeved shirts and pants.

"Anyways, ready to go, Lady Uzumaki?" he asked, extending a gloved hand towards her with a small bow. Her face twisted in mild disgust at the moniker, shoving the fan back into her bag before shifting it onto her back.

"Don't _call_ me that," she hissed.

"Why not? You're _obviously_ an Uzumaki, and you're the only female Uzumaki I know of, which means you're pretty much the closest thing to a princess it has."

"I really hate you sometimes," she deadpanned as she took his hand. His laughter echoed as they vanished from the alley, leaving no traces of their presence.

* * *

 **And so, the mission fails!**

 **Well, this chapter had a lot of information. And also a good amount of violence and angst. Everyone's in a bad mood now. Except our masked friend and Karin, who were actually working together this whole time to get Mito's tessen. And they succeeded. Who knew? On that note, did anyone figure out Yuzu was Karin?** ** **One person on AO3 managed to identify her, but no one else has mentioned it. I was honestly surprised people didn't jump on that when I mentioned the red hair, guess I did a good job with being subtle.**** **(Also, I think any Bleach fans will recognize the shout-out to her using Yuzu as a pseudonym.)**

 **So, no one really predicted HOW this mission would go. Still, this chapter had some important revelations... and some important little hints to the future.** **Next chapter will be a wrap-up for this arc and clear up some important details, including the long-needed talk between Masaru and Sasuke. I'll save my final thoughts on this arc for then. I'll say now that I'm getting really excited though, because after this arc comes a VERY important one I've been anticipating for a long time now, including a couple of _GIANT_ game changing twists.**

 **Also, I mentioned it in the latest chapter of Bloody Oracle, so I'll say it here too: after this next giant twist is revealed, I'm thinking of doing a crossover between that and EoL. Ryoko and Sute would make the most terrifying and canon-breaking alliance ever, even if Ryoko's still dead for 99% of the story. You guys obviously know Ryoko is at least PARTIALLY responsible for 90% of the changes in EoL, so if she teamed up with a living S-rank ninja... **Well, canon would be even MORE broken. The only reason I'm not combining the universes now is because Sute's going to have her own canon-shattering journey that is in sharp contrast to everything in EoL.  
****

 ** **So, yeah. I won't be able to do it until after the next arc since the plot I have in mind involves the upcoming reveal, but you might want to check out Bloody Oracle if you haven't already.****

 ** **Anyways, as always, thanks to everyone for reading! Specific shout-outs to:****

 ** **xXSpades231Xx (No need to apologize, you're not forgetting anything. To answer in order: 1. he's definitely mentioned Obito to Sasuke but they've never talked about him in detail; 2. Surprisingly not many, though Masaru's gonna work on his own new one soon; 3. Sadly, Masaru would never try to become Hokage, though now I'm tempted to have him become the 6th or 7th instead of Naruto... 4. Not romantic, per se, but he is VERY possessive of a certain someone... 5. I don't know, I didn't have much OJ while sick), Elise142, Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf (I can neither confirm nor deny anything, but I've basically all but outright said Obito has been stalking Masaru so that's a change in itself), BloodRaven42 (Maybe, maybe not. I legitimately could not resist the urge to use that line though, especially after having him call Sakura "princess" earlier), May525 (Yep, last cover was indeed our Masked Friend. You can find that image in my DA gallery too. Also, Firefly is officially on track in the draft.), reebajee (if Masaru ever heard someone singing that he'd probably become a hermit), Darksoul (¡Gracias! Masaru y Fu son muy adorables.), dinorun154 and Kayo-san (ahhh thank you for marathoning it and leaving so many reviews! Also you managed to pick up on something that will be VERY plot-relevant in the near future... ;D)****

 ** **Whew, that was fun. That's all for now. Thanks again for reading, and please leave a review. I seriously LOVE hearing people's speculations. I'll see you all sometime this week!**  
**


	54. Chapter 51: Talk It Out

Chapter 51

* * *

 _"Sometimes, you need to just sit down and talk things out."_

* * *

Breakfast once again found four absolutely sullen teenagers seated in a café, none of them feeling any particular appetite as they stared at their uneaten food.

Last night ended on the most sour note possible as they'd confirmed the mission to be a total failure. While they'd all been distracted by the masked man, the merchant caravan's hotel rooms had been ransacked and robbed. They'd arrived to find the police scrambling to investigate it, getting access to the scene due to their hero status for turning in the bandit group earlier, and had managed to attain a list of the stolen items. Most of the goods had been easily replaceable, but chief among the losses was Mito's tessen.

Worst of all, Sakura _knew_ it was all her fault.

She stared at her stack pancakes sulkily, the usually fluffy confection looking soggy and floppy underneath the thick coating of syrup. She didn't feel particularly up for the artificial taste of sugar, or even the more savory taste of bacon or toast that the others had ordered. They seemed just as gloomy, none of them eating either and just staring at their food.

As had become typical over the course of the mission, Shikamaru finally broke the silence. "We'll head back today," he announced. "There's not much reason to stick around."

"Right after breakfast?" Masaru guessed gloomily, pushing his rice around the plate.

"Depends," Shikamaru responded, glancing at Sakura. "I'd prefer to wait for Sakura to eat first."

She didn't even wince at the remark, just continued to sit in sullen silence. Technically, she hadn't eaten in over twelve hours. She'd been kidnapped before dinner, and after the chaos last night food had been the last thing on her mind. Right now though her stomach felt too heavy to hold down anything, her spirit too weighted down with guilt and shame.

The pancakes were starting to bloat now. They'd soaked up most of the syrup and butter to the point they looked dry, even sweeter than before. Her mouth felt scratchy just imagining it.

She swallowed harshly, pushing the plate back. "Sorry," she mumbled, getting up. "I... I'm going to go for a walk." Three pairs of sharp eyes snapped towards her, Sasuke instantly standing up.

"I'm coming with you," he announced gruffly, and Sakura flinched slightly at his harsh tone. Just a few days ago she'd be ecstatic for her crush's attention, let alone a chance to be _alone_ with him, but right now it just made her feel weak and vulnerable.

"I don't need—"

"No, I'll go with her," Shikamaru cut in, and when Sakura shot him a desperate look he added, "No one's allowed to split up until the mission ends. Two groups minimum at any time." His tone held no room for discussion, so Sakura just mutely clamped her mouth shut and gave a tight nod. It made sense anyway, the last time she went alone—

Well. Better to stop that line of thought now.

"Then why are _you_ going with her?" Sasuke demanded, narrowing his eyes, and Shikamaru just stared him down evenly.

"Because I have some business to take care of anyway, and I think you two need to talk in private." Both Uchiha boys winced, Sasuke scowling and Masaru grimacing as he looked away. It probably had something to do with that unknown bar scene mentioned last night, but Sakura didn't particularly care. She just exhaled softly, nodding her head slightly.

"Alright," she agreed quietly. Of her options, Shikamaru would probably be the best right now.

When neither of the Uchiha tried to protest further, Shikamaru put some money on the table to cover his portion of the food and got up. "We'll meet up at the inn in two hours. Try to have it worked out by then."

Sasuke grunted and Masaru just sank into his seat, which was apparently good enough for Shikamaru. He turned and headed for the door, Sakura fishing around her pocket for a few crumpled bills to cover her own portion before shuffling out after him in silence, downcast eyes trained on her feet.

They walked in silence for a while, each of them lost in their own thoughts as they made their way through the crowds. It didn't feel awkward or tense though, and Sakura felt silently grateful that Shikamaru didn't press her to speak. He'd undoubtedly noticed that she knew something she wasn't telling them after that display last night, but he also seemed to understand she couldn't tell him. He just gave her space as he took lead, offering no input as he seemed to wander aimlessly.

After a few minutes of walking her steps faltered, her eyes flitting to the restaurant next to her. Ahead of her she could hear Shikamaru stop, noticing her falling behind. "Sakura?"

"I... I need to go in there, for a few minutes." Turning to face him, she frowned as she added, "Alone." Shikamaru frowned at that, looking reluctant, but he wasn't a genius for nothing and she could soon see a spark of understanding in his eyes.

"Alright, fine," he sighed. "I need to talk to someone anyway, so this works out better for me." Sakura instantly picked up on his hidden meaning. They couldn't openly reference the presence of ANBU in a public setting after all, and given everything that had happened last night, he probably _did_ need to iron out some details with them about the return trip. She offered a meek smile, nodding slightly.

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

"Just don't walk back alone," he told her, and offered a lazy wave as he headed off. Exhaling softly, she braced herself and entered the restaurant, holding her breath. By this point the breakfast rush had started to die down and this particular café didn't tend to attract many customers anyway for reasons she didn't quite know, so it didn't take long to spy two familiar heads of blonde and black hair. She squared her shoulders as she saw them, waving off the hostess's query about a table before crossing the room.

Shizune noticed her first, the dark-haired woman perking up and half-rising from her chair. "Sakura-chan?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together. "Did you come here alone?"

"No, Shikamaru walked me here," Sakura deflected with a small smile, and slid into the empty chair next to her. She carefully avoided looking at the other woman there, her gaze instead wandering to the spread of food on the table. This café leaned towards more traditional breakfast foods than the other one: two bowls of white rice, a bowl of half-eaten miso soup and a plate with a fried egg.

Apparently her staring caught Shizune's attention, as the woman leaned forward with an attentive frown and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not... really," Sakura mumbled, quickly glancing away. "I don't really feel hungry."

"Have you eaten _anything_ since last night?"

Sakura's silence provided all the answer they needed.

Shizune's face fell, and she frowned before pushing one of the rice bowls over to her. "Here, eat this," she urged. "You're still growing, skipping two major meals in a row won't be healthy for you." Shoulders slumping, Sakura dutifully accepted the bowl and a pair of chopsticks and quietly began eating. The grains of rice felt clumpy and flavorless against her tongue, sliding down her throat a bit too rough for her liking, but she knew she had to eat.

For a while no one said anything, the only noise the sound of chopsticks clinking against bowls and plates. Finally, she heard a sigh across the table and the soft clatter of chopsticks being set down. "Alright, brat, you're obviously here for a reason," Tsunade said bluntly. "Get it out."

Sakura chewed her current mouthful of rice and swallowed before setting down her chopsticks, gaze trained on the half-empty bowl. "The mission failed," she started quietly. "The merchant caravan got robbed last night." Next to her she heard a sharp intake of breath from Shizune, no doubt sympathetic to her, but no reaction nearly as obvious from Tsunade.

"Missions fail all the time," the Sannin responded dismissively. "Everyone fails one sooner or later. Just be glad yours didn't end in any casualties. Having your target stolen is hardly the end of the world."

"It's not your fault," Shizune added reassuringly, offering her a small smile. "Last night was just a mess for all of you. Even if none of that had happened, you probably wouldn't have staked out the inn where the caravan was staying. You only would have learned about the theft after the fact."

"But it _is_ my fault," Sakua argued softly, biting down on her lip. "The theft—it was... it was _that man_. That's why he needed a distraction, he wanted the tessen all along." She could feel both women's gazes sharpen at that, but she didn't bother looking up, just pushed on, "That's why he kidnapped me. He was working with a girl staying at our inn, and while everyone was busy worrying about me, she—she broke in, a-and..." She trailed off, her voice starting to tremble.

"Sakura-chan," Shizune started, soft and gentle, "what happened last night was beyond your control. You didn't do anything wrong."

"It's not like you could've done anything anyway," Tsunade added, not as soft but not as harsh as she usually sounded. "That man was _leagues_ ahead of you. Even the ANBU had trouble with him. You're a _genin_ , don't just go pinning all the responsibility on your shoulders." Sakura didn't respond right away. She breathed in a deep, shuddery breath, her hands clenching atop her lap as she squared her shoulders.

"Four days ago, we went around interviewing hotel guests about a bandit group," she began, each word forced and strained. "The very first person I spoke to was girl named Yuzu. Last night, we confirmed she'd checked out of the inn while we were all out, and at this point we believe she and the masked man worked together to steal the tessen."

"That's a heavy accusation," Shizune said. "How are you so sure?" Sakura swallowed at this point, finally raising her eyes to meet Tsunade's steely bronze gaze.

"Because she had bright red hair just like the Uzumaki clan."

The air chilled at her words, Tsunade's eyes narrowing sharply as Shizune sucked in a sharp breath. "You... You know about that?" the dark-haired woman breathed, and Sakura nodded tightly, forcing herself to hold Tsunade's gaze as she spoke.

"When I was younger, I collected old bingo book entries on famous kunoichi. I'd look for women from any village who had a rank higher than B, and then I'd try to find out any information I could about them. Whether their techniques and achievements, or just about their clans..." She trailed off, her fists clenching just a bit tighter as her teeth dug deeper into her lower lip.

"And you found one with an Uzumaki," Tsunade finished for her, and Sakura nodded tightly, finally averting her gaze to her lap.

"When I saw Yuzu, I knew she was one," she whispered. "I read about them, about the fall of Uzushio. I know there's almost none left." From the moment she'd recognized that fiery shade of red, Sakura knew Yuzu had to have _some_ kind of shinobi training. Uzushio had fallen due to fear of their fuinjutsu prowess, and the Uzumaki clan had been the greatest masters of the craft the Elemental Nations had ever seen. Any survivors would likely be hunted—especially if they had the distinct bright red hair their clan was famous for—and only the shinobi would survive the slaughter. They'd undoubtedly pass their skills on to the next generation.

She knew that, and she knew that Yuzu might be a threat to the mission. As one of the final members of the clan, she had a perfectly valid reason to want to reclaim Mito's tessen for herself. But even so—

"I couldn't tell them," she finished, her voice choking. "I couldn't even talk to _her_ about it because Masaru was there when we first met, and no one in my generation is supposed to know about it."

Admitting it out loud seemed to sap away all of her energy, the pink-haired girl sagging in her chair dejectedly. No one had ever outright told her the topic was taboo, but Sakura wasn't _stupid_. No books in the civilian _or_ academy library contained any references to their fallen allies; she'd found out through pure chance from a history book borrowed from Ino's clan's library. Even though their uniforms bore the symbol of the once-great clan, none of her classmates knew the name Uzumaki beyond the annoying blond idiot who liked pranks.

The look on Jiraiya's face when she'd mentioned Kushina in front of Naruto had all but confirmed it. For whatever reason, Konoha had seen fit to suppress all references to the Uzumaki clan, and Sakura didn't want to risk getting in trouble for being the one to tell them. And because of that, the mission _failed_.

"I should have said something," she choked out, squeezing her eyes shut. "I should have just told them to keep an eye on her, that I thought she seemed suspicious or I thought she might be a shinobi. But I _didn't_. I just kept my mouth shut and thought I'd confront her later when we'd be alone. But then that night she told us to go to the Three Sparrows Bar, and after that I totally forgot she existed."

Her eyes were closed but she could sense the women snap to attention at the last bit, recognizing the name of the bar where they'd met. "She used us a distraction," Shizune said slowly, sounding almost horrified by the revelation.

"Smart girl," Tsunade murmured almost appreciatively, and Sakura winced while Shizune made some noise of protest at her teacher. Sakura couldn't argue the point though, because the distraction had _worked_. With that one meeting their team had been divided and torn apart, all thoughts of the tessen nearly forgotten in her excitement over possibly convincing one of the Legendary Sannin and her greatest idols to return home.

Everyone else could list their mistakes starting from last night, but Sakura could trace hers back to that very first day. "I'm the reason the team broke up," she whispered, quieting Shizune's scolding. "I'm the reason the mission failed. I'm not just useless, I was _worse_ than useless. It's all my fault, and I'm sick of being useless."

* * *

Masaru fidgeted nervously as he sat next to Sasuke on the bed, trying his best not to look at his cousin. After Shikamaru and Sakura had left, the two cousins returned to the inn to find a pile of silencing seals waiting on the desk. They didn't know who had left it, but they'd wasted no time pasting them on the walls, grateful for the privacy they provided for such a sensitive discussion.

Now, if only one of them would _talk_.

While Shikamaru had probably been right to give them privacy, he had severely underestimated the Uchiha clan's tendency to repress emotions. _Talking_ about feelings was practically a sign of weakness and a major taboo, to the point they rarely talked about it even with closer relatives. Sasuke epitomized that aspect of their clan's upbringing, hence his normally broody demeanor. Masaru happened to be more honest and open with his emotions, but he _also_ happened to hate social confrontations.

In short, they'd been sitting there in total silence for ten minutes.

Eventually Masaru sighed, hunching forward and propping his chin in his hands as he stared at the wall across from him. Faded markings indicated where a picture used to hang, the edges of one corner stained a light brown from some liquid that had spilled there. Somehow he found the image very fitting for their current moods.

"We need to talk," he said. Next to him Sasuke grunted, hunched with fingers folded beneath his chin in a similar pose to Masaru as he glowered at the window.

"We do," he agreed tightly, not looking at him.

"Do you—"

"Doesn't it bother you?" Sasuke cut in, his tone blunt yet full of sharp edges. "Back during the invasion, what Gaara said... That your mother, and... your _sister_." His voice took on a biting edge, little more than a hiss, and in his peripheral vision Masaru could see his hands clench tighter to the point they turned white. "Didn't it bother you _at all_?"

Masaru frowned, his legs swinging inwards with a small sigh as he carefully avoided looking at his cousin. "Of course it did," he admitted softly. "I'd have to be crazy for it _not_ to bother me. I mean my own mom, a-and... Akari? That's just..." He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, not even the basic _thought_. He bit down on his lip, fingers scrabbling and squeezing the blanket. "It's—it's terrifying, just to _try_ to imagine it. But... It's wrong. _He's_ wrong."

"How are you sure though?" Sasuke snapped, a bit too fast, and Masaru risked a glance his way. Sasuke's face had twisted into an angry scowl with his hands no longer folded beneath his chin, his dark eyes full of heat and penetrating him questioningly. "You say it bothered you, but you don't believe him? How? _How_ can you be so sure it's not true?"

"How are you _not_?" Masaru retorted, a sharp spark of defensiveness flaring up. "That night—you know more about what went down than I do!"

Sasuke flinched and Masaru knew instantly it hit a bit too close to home, but he couldn't take it back. He knew Sasuke had been forced to watch the massacre through the Tsukuyomi; they never spoke about what he saw, but over the years Sasuke had said enough about it.

His cousin's face soured, his eyes darkening as he turned back to the window with a bitter look. "You're so _certain_ ," he muttered. "You're the one who's got the most on the line, you're the one that would be affected the most, but even back then, when Gaara first told you—you didn't even doubt it. And I just can't—" He broke off there, his voice starting to crack, and his knuckles turned white as he gripped the edges of the mattress tighter.

As Masaru looked at him something clicked in his brain, and he shifted to face his cousin with a dawning look of realization. "...This is about more than Gaara said, isn't it?" he asked lowly, and Sasuke's mouth twisted further, not looking at him as he bowed his head.

"You weren't there," he said slowly. "You didn't see the look on Kakashi's face when Gaara's sister mentioned the file. Said _her_ name. That look—he knew _something_. Something _bad_. And after that, I think back to that night, and I just can't—" He cut himself off as his voice cracked again, sucking in a sharp breath. "You—you _lived_. For some goddamn reason _that man_ killed everyone else, but he left you and me alive. He told me—he said I was too weak to kill, and he'd face me when I got stronger, but _you_ —there just, there wasn't any reason."

His shoulders had started shaking now, his posture tight and rigid in the way that spoke of someone trying to maintain composure. "I've been thinking about it," he whispered. "I've been thinking it over all these years since that night, and I can't figure it out. Why he'd choose _you_ over Akari. And it's fucking _awful_ ," he bit out, voice hoarse and barely more than a breath, "to wonder ' _why_ ' when I should just be grateful there's _someone else_ , should just be happy you're here at _all_ , but I—I _can't stop_."

At this point Sasuke finally lifted his head to look at him, and the raw emotion in his eyes made Masaru start and nearly fall. Over the past five years he'd grown used to Sasuke just being stoic and gloomy, showing no emotion except the occasional smirk and his nearly ever-present bitter scowl, but right now he saw none of that cold façade. Tears pricked the corners of Sasuke's eyes as his eyebrows pushed down and his lips curled back in a tiny, pained frown, his face scrunched up with agony and confusion.

"I can't stop wondering why my only family got to live when no one else did, and I can't just be fucking happy I have anyone at all."

Masaru just stared at him, too stunned to respond. After a few moments Sasuke averted his gaze back to his lap and his mouth tightened again, letting silence lapse over them. Masaru slowly turned his face forward and hunched forward, just taking time to process everything and organize his thoughts. There was so much, so many different pieces and bits of information bouncing around his head, flashes of memories both his and not his.

Finally, he swallowed and forced himself to open his mouth.

"Sometimes, I dream and see Akari's memories."

He could feel Sasuke stiffen at that, snapping a startled look at him. "What?"

Masaru didn't look at Sasuke as he spoke, just kept staring forward at the blank wall. "It started when we were really little. We'd go to bed and dream about each other's day. At first we didn't really notice because we spent all our time together, but after we got older and started spending more time apart we realized it was weird. When we told Mom about it, she called it twin telepathy."

Confusion marred Sasuke's features in his peripheral vision, a rare sight. "I... What? Why are you..." His words tapered off, unsure what he even wanted to ask, but Masaru ignored him and just continued on.

"Sometimes I see her in the academy playing with Kiba and Shino. One time she went to the Memorial Stone to talk to Uncle Obito. I saw her spying on Naruto after we started hanging out, too, I guess to make sure he wouldn't be a bad influence."

Slowly, he could see Sasuke's face shift, morphing from confusion to a gradually dawning realization and horror. "You... You still see them," he whispered, his eyes widening. "Even after all this time?"

Masaru just gave a single nod. Even after all these years he had not once told someone about those dreams, not since that horrible night where his world fell apart, but right now he felt it needed to be said. "Every time I go to sleep, I wonder if I'll see her. I see new memories all the time, I learn things she never told me. It's impossible _not_ to think about her, and not to wonder _why_. Why her, why me, why _us_. But... I can't let that control my life."

Exhaling heavily, he slid off the bed and rose to his full height, fists clenching at his side. "The past hurts and it always will, but we can't change it and I'm sick of being sad all the time. I've spent enough time moping for one lifetime." He glanced at Sasuke, his face firm with resolve. "We're _alive_ , Sasuke, when so many others aren't. I don't why _we're_ here, and maybe I never will, but that doesn't matter. I'm _alive_ , and I'm not going to waste it."

Sasuke remained silent, just staring at him in wide-eyed shock. After a long while Masaru breathed a large sigh, turning and walking to the door. "I'm going out for a bit."

"Wait," Sasuke said sharply, starting to rise. "Shikamaru said—"

"I'm not going outside," Masaru cut in flatly. "I'm just going down to the lobby. I think we both need some time alone." Indecision flickered across Sasuke's face, but then it smoothed into reluctance and he sat back down, clasping his hands under his chin.

"...Fine. Just don't leave the building."

Masaru nodded and took his leave, quietly closing the door behind him. Only then did he let his shoulders sag, mental and emotional exhaustion taking its hold. Despite what he said it still hurt so much to talk about it, to _think_ about it. He'd spent years wondering about those dreams, about what he saw—about why Akari had been in their house that day, and why his mom gave her that drink—

 _Don't think about it._ He shoved the thought away sharply and headed downstairs, consciously avoiding looking at the hole in the door to room four as he passed. When he reached the lobby he found it empty for once, a sign placed on the reception counter announcing the innkeeper had gone to lunch. That suited him fine, he didn't want to deal with the old crone. He took a moment and just stood there, looking at the empty room.

Then, despite what Sasuke said, he walked to the door and opened it, quietly stepping outside.

As the door closed behind him he sighed, tipping back his head to stare at the sky. Bright blue stretched endlessly above him, not a cloud in sight. His eyes slid shut as he let the sun's golden rays warm his face, thawing a bit of the coldness that had taken him. Even as he basked in its glory he felt his smile grow a bit more genuine, his heart a bit calmer.

"Masaru?" He started in surprise at Sakura's voice, eyes instantly snapping open, and then started again when he turned to see her flanked by two older women.

"Uh, hi," he greeted lamely, nodding at them. "Why...?"

"Sakura-chan dropped in on our breakfast so we offered to walk her back," the black-haired woman—Shizune?—explained with a smile. Next to her Tsunade just huffed and looked away, arms folded over her chest impatiently. "Sorry if we surprised you."

"Uh, that's okay, but that's not..." He trailed off, but apparently Sakura knew him better than he realized because she quickly recognized his question.

"Shikamaru said he had some business to handle," she explained, and paused to glance around before leaning forward to discreetly flash the standard hand sign for ' _ANBU_ '. He relaxed a bit and nodded in understanding, but she continued to frown as she pressed, "What about you? Where's Sasuke? Weren't you supposed to talk to him about... whatever happened last night?" Her brow furrowed in confusion, still not really briefed on it, but behind her Shizune winced and Tsunade's eyes sharply narrowed as the blonde glanced back at them.

"He's inside," Masaru offered flatly. "We talked. We're cooling off. I just wanted a breath of fresh air for a second."

"You should probably stay inside," Sakura said with a grimace. "That guy... I'm pretty sure he can teleport."

"I noticed," he replied dryly. "I don't think he likes crowds though." He gestured to the sparse trickle of people milling about the street, a young man sweeping the space in front of a store and a pair of women talking to a shopkeeper.

Sakura glanced at the small scattering of activity and relaxed marginally. "R-right... I guess he doesn't." Turning back, she still eyed him worriedly, biting on her lip. "J-just... Hurry inside, please?"

His shoulders slumped a little, and he nodded with a small smile. "I will. Just... give me a minute." She offered a feeble smile of her own, and then walked inside, Shizune trailing behind her. Tsunade, however, remained outside, stern gaze stubbornly focused on the end of the street. Masaru let his smile slip and let his body slump, tiredly leaning against the wall. He absently tipped his head back, letting the sun warm his face one more time.

"So you like the sun, huh?"

The question caught him by surprise, and he quickly turned his head towards the blonde woman. Tsunade wasn't looking at him, just kept staring down the street with her arms folded under her chest. He frowned slightly, still surprised she had spoken to him, but nodded warily.

"Yeah... Feels good, I guess." Her fingers flexed a little, her red claw-like nails digging into her arm just a little deeper.

"I see," she said tightly, and left it at that. Masaru eyed her warily, wondering what had brought that on. Mentally debating with himself, after a moment he sucked in a deep breath and pushed off the wall, dipping into a bow.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm sorry if I've ever offended you in any way."

"W-what?" He could hear the stutter in her voice, obviously caught off-guard, but he didn't look up and remained bowed as he continued.

"I've noticed the way you look at me." It was hard not to. Every time they met he could see that dark flicker in her eyes, the way her face would immediately sour whenever she looked at him. Last night had only solidified his suspicions, the way she had looked at him and then just stalked out quelled any doubts. "I don't know why you dislike me so much, but it feels wrong to part on bad terms. So I want to apologize, in case it's my fault."

For a long time she didn't respond, Masaru maintaining his pose as he waited for her to speak. His back had begun to feel sore from being bent for so long when he heard her softly huff.

"Tch, you really are that brat's kid, aren't you," she muttered ruefully, and at that Masaru started and snapped his torso upright, shooting her a wide-eyed stare. Her lip curled back slightly as she looked at him, her bronze eyes glinting with that same, dark emotion as she gazed at him.

And suddenly, it clicked, his stomach curling in realization as he finally identified that look:

 _Longing._

"Did... did you know my mother?" he whispered, eyes wide, and Tsunade snorted, her mouth taking on a more rueful twist.

"That hellion? Please, _everyone_ knew her. But no, not her." She frowned, placing a hand on her hip as she peered down at him. "I'm talking about your father, Uchiha Ryuusuke."

* * *

 **And there's the final twist of this whole arc.**

 **Lots of important talks here, some expansion on why Sakura reacted so badly last chapter, and just Masaru and Sasuke's feelings in general. This whole chapter was a royal pain to write and went through many, many, MANY revisions (I honestly can't say which talk was revised more, Sasuke and Masaru originally started on a bench and Sakura at one point had the internal monologue about the Uzumaki thing during breakfast with the team), but it's finally done and I'm not changing another thing. As far as I'm concerned this arc is now officially over, since this wraps up (most of) the loose ends. Next chapter will be 95% flashback, and then back to Konoha in Chapter 53. We're coming up to one of the biggest twists in the entire story, even bigger than Wave. I seriously can't wait to get there!  
**

 **Also: I got a lot of comments on Bloody Oracle, so I thought I'd ask here too. What animal do you think would suit Masaru most as a summons? He obviously still has connections to Ryoko's ninneko, but he definitely hasn't signed the contract. I've got a couple ideas in mind for him if I ever go that route, but I'm curious what you guys think.**

 **As always, thanks to all my reviewers: Elise142, Sazaleli, reebajee (Very good catches~), xXSpades231Xx (...I might have to draw that now), dreckman (Thanks! Sakura's breakdown was tricky, and next chapter should explain a bit more on why Tsunade's more brash), Blackdrake (Masked Man is in fact a guy, I'll say that much. And yep, everyone's overdue for a talk), and Beyogi.**

 **Anyways, that's all for now. See you all sometime next week!**


	55. Chapter 52: A Dragon's Roar

**WARNING: This chapter features description of gory injuries, and also a reference to a miscarriage. Please be careful reading.**

Chapter 52

* * *

 _"There is no sound fiercer than a dragon's roar."_

* * *

" _Tsunade-sama, please teach me medical ninjutsu!_ "

 _Tsunade turned her head at the question, arching a single blond eyebrow. A small boy not even ten years old stood behind her with his torso dipped into a deep bow, his scruffy dark brown hair falling into his face. At this angle she could clearly see the red and white fan sewn onto his back, large and bright against the black fabric._

 _She huffed a small breath, turning to face the boy more fully. "What's this?" she drawled. "An Uchiha, actually coming to a Senju for_ help _?" She smirked, putting a hand on her hip. "Grandfather would be so proud."_

 _Her words had no bite to them, she didn't have a problem towards the Uchiha clan like some of her older relatives. Their clans may have been enemies but she'd grown up in a village with one as a classmate and near-friend. If anything, she just saw them as pretentious and snobby. This boy apparently hadn't reached the age where Uchiha start looking down on others yet, because he just bowed even deeper and hung his head._

 _"I am aware of our clans' past aggressions, but I beseech you to please set aside their histories and teach me! You're the best medic Konoha has, at your current rate you'll even surpass your honorable grandfather! I cannot ask for a better teacher than you!"_

 _Tsunade listened to the impassioned speech with a growing hint of amusement, her smirk growing unseen by the bowed boy. "Kid, drop all the formalities, you sound worse than my great-uncle," she snorted. "I don't care about that old feud. I just don't see a point in spending time on a random brat. For all I know, you'll just lose interest in a week and move on to something else. Just go to the hospital and ask a medic there if you're so interested."_

 _The boy stiffened at that, and he rose to stare at her with a face full of firm determination. "I swear, I won't just move on," he vowed, voice gravely serious. "Fighting only does so much good. The best way I can protect and help my friends is to learn iryo-ninjutsu."_

 _His voice rang with resolve, and as she looked at him Tsunade felt a small smirk touch her lips._

 _"Alright, brat. Do you want to bet on it?"_

* * *

" _Tsunade-sama, look! I finally revived the fish! Will you teach me now?_ "

 _Tsuande nearly dropped her textbook when she heard the exclamation, snapping her head upwards with wide eyes. Sure enough there stood the Uchiha brat, smiling proudly as he stood next to the river bank above a violently flopping fish. Setting aside the book she swept over and swiped the fish off the ground, pulsing chakra through it. Everything felt perfectly in order, its vitals fine save for the strain on its gills from being outside water._

 _"Not bad," she allowed as she tossed the fish back into the river, eyes critical as she watched it splash into the water and swiftly swim away. Her gaze turned back to the boy, scrutinizing him closely. A look of utter satisfaction hung around him, a small smile lighting his face even as he panted tiredly from the exertion of what he'd just done._

 _She had to admit, she'd been surprised to see him again. Three months had passed since their first meeting, and she'd nearly forgotten about him and the bet they'd made. She'd bet on him losing interest within three months, and he had countered with a bet he'd learn to revive fish by then. It had seemed like such an easy win on her end, she hadn't really taken it seriously._

 _After all, the Uchiha clan specialized in combat above all else. Medical ninjutsu was difficult and sometimes downright boring compared to other fields, and medics couldn't fight directly on the front lines. This boy was young, still in the academy, so she had fully expected him to get bored quickly and move on to something more fitting of his family's specialties._

 _Obviously, she'd been wrong._

 _"Will you teach me now?" he asked, staring at her expectantly. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, letting out a long-suffering sigh._

 _"A bet's a bet," she replied with a shrug. Needless to say, she had lost. Jiraiya would have a field day when he heard about this... "Alright, kid, you got yourself a teacher."_

 _The boy's face lit up almost immediately, mouth stretching into a grin so wide and oddly familiar it brought a pang to her heart. "You mean it? Really? Yes! Yes! Thank you so much, Tsunade-sensei!"_

 _The title felt strange, her eye twitching at how swiftly he adopted the new honorific, but she brushed it aside as she spoke. "What's your name kid?" she demanded, because despite having met him before and making that bet, she'd never bothered getting his name. It had seemed pointless since—again—she hadn't actually expected to see him again._

 _The boy's excited whooping silenced instantly, his face serious once more as he stood ramrod straight and dipped into a bow. "Uchiha Ryuusuke, ma'am. I look forward to learning from you!"_

 _Her eyes narrowed. "Uchiha Ryuusuke?" Something about the name felt vaguely familiar, distantly niggling on the edge of her memories. She looked at his face more closely, taking in the features of her new student. Messy brown hair and dark eyes, but skin just a few shades more tan than the average fair Uchiha—_

Oh, _she thought, a sudden sense of understanding washing over her. Suddenly, his desperation to learn from her made just a little more sense._

* * *

" _Tsunade-sensei, I did it! The cut is totally gone!_ "

 _Tsunade nodded in approval as she examined her arm, the skin perfectly smooth and unblemished. No traces of the long, thin slit she'd made down the length of her forearm remained save for a bit of blood which had seeped out from the wound when she'd first made it. The cut had been smooth and clean, simple to heal, but that made the feat no less impressive._

 _"It's good," she admitted, and Ryuusuke's face lit up once more as she proceeded to wipe her arm clean._

 _Uchiha Ryuusuke was a quick study, and possibly a medical prodigy. Granted, reviving the fish had covered the hardest part of his early studies, but_ still _—to get that down in three short months spoke of immense skill and talent. And now after one month of training under her, he'd already moved on to healing external wounds. She had to admit, he certainly had plenty of drive. He made a good student._

 _"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei!" he exclaimed, beaming at her with that smile so bright and un-Uchiha-like it almost made her smile too. She settled for a smirk instead._

 _"Don't get too excited, brat," she scolded, lightly bopping him on the head. That successfully wiped that grin off his face, and as he rubbed his head with a small pout she continued, "This is just basics. As it stands I wouldn't trust you with anything more than first aid. You still have a long way to go."_

 _Ryuusuke nodded, his face solemn, but she could see traces of that smile glittering in his eye. "I know, Tsunade-sensei. I have no intentions of slacking off now. I will do my best to improve, no matter—"_

 _"Ryuusuke-nii!" He stopped mid-sentence at a prepubescent voice, and they turned to see a small girl with black hair tied in a tight bun at the nape of her neck approaching from the edge of the training field. Obviously Uchiha, maybe two or three years younger than him. Ryuusuke's face softened, his chest falling with a small, mildly exasperated breath as he turned to face her._

 _"Riko-chan, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at the academy right now?"_

 _"We got out early today," she told him. "You weren't at your house, and your mother said you'd be here."_

 _"And so you came to look for me?" he asked._

 _"I was bored," she replied blandly, and Ryuusuke's palm met his face. Tsunade snorted in amusement, the corners of her mouth quirking up. The Uchiha girl finally glanced her way, eyes moving up and down her form before settling on her chest. Her face went almost comically blank at that point, making Tsunade's eyes narrow in mild irritation._

 _"Got something to say?"_

 _"No," the girl replied immediately, and dipped into a polite bow. "Uchiha Ryoko, it is a pleasure to meet you, Tsunade-sama." She then yelped as Ryuusuke shoved her head, pushing her down a bit further._

 _"Please ignore her manners, she spends her time with Uzumaki Kushina," he deadpanned. "She rubs off on her. Which raises the question of why you're not with her now." He gave Ryoko a pointed look as she pulled away, shooting him a dark glare of her own._

 _"She's visiting with Mito-sama today."_

 _"I'm surprised you didn't tag along Riko. Aren't you one of Mito's fangirls?"_

 _"I am not a fangirl!" she snapped. "I am just very enthusiastic about learning about fuinjutsu from a venerable master."_

 _"Hold on, did you say your name is Ryoko?" Tsunade cut in, faintly amused by the bickering and the prospect of her grandmother having a fangirl—and an Uchiha, no less. The pair turned to her, Ryoko dipping into another bow._

 _"I did."_

 _"Then are you Katsumi's daughter?"_

 _Both Uchiha started at that, shooting her matching looks of surprise. "How—?"_

 _"She was in my class," Tsunade replied with a shrug. "I've been wondering how her kid was doing. So you get along with my student, hmm?"_

 _"Yeah, she's like my sister," Ryuusuke said, at the same time Ryoko declared in the most perfect deadpan possible, "I'm going to marry him one day."_

 _Tsunade actually laughed at that, while Ryuusuke jumped and whirled to face the girl with a red face. "W-what? No! Riko, you're_ eight _! You're too young to think about love! And besides that, you're Kagami's granddaughter! You can't just marry me!"_

 _"The heart wants what the heart wants," she replied with a shrug, and Ryuusuke just groaned while Tsunade kept laughing._

* * *

" _Tsunade-sensei, I know it's advanced, but can you teach me more about how osteoclasts work in repairing bones?_ "

 _She looked up at the Uchiha boy sullenly, a half-empty bottle of sake sitting on the desk. "Now?" she questioned, too tired to even sound sarcastic or dry._

 _She must have looked awful, and she knew it. She hadn't left her study in three days, not since that horrible rainy evening when Orochimaru had given her the necklace she had gifted her younger brother just a few short weeks ago. The curtains had been kept drawn, the only light an old lamp on her desk, and she hadn't actually read a single word of the notes open on her desk. A picture of Nawaki sat in the center of the pages, the paper around it mottled with long-dried tearstains._

 _To his credit Ryuusuke didn't seem fazed by her bedraggled appearance though, just met her gaze steadily with a somber face. "Staying inside like this isn't good for you. You haven't been eating properly, and you know alcohol is not an acceptable option for staying hydrated. So."_

 _And he leaned over her shoulder to point to the notebook, gently nudging the photo of Nawaki to the side just enough to reveal a hand-drawn diagram of a bone. "Teach me about osteoclasts. It's better than sitting around in the dark."_

 _Her lips curled back at his blunt tone, glowering at him darkly, but she didn't push him away or tell him off. She stared up at him, his young face inches from her own, cheeks still pudgy with the final remnants of baby fat and his eyes tinted even pitcher black than normal by the darkness of the room._

 _Looking at him now she could see traces of Nawaki, so young and innocent and pure._ Only twelve _,_ _a voice screamed in her head, shrieking to the heavens high above with a ferocity that shook her to the core and rendered her numb._ He was only twelve years old, not even twelve and twenty-four hours and he's **_gone_**.

 _She scowled at the Uchiha boy, bronze eyes glimmering darkly, and he calmly stepped back. Without a word she rose, so sharply and forcefully it knocked her chair out beneath her but she didn't care. She just grabbed her notebook and lifted it up, only pausing long enough to slip the photo of her brother out of it and onto the desk._

 _"Osteoclasts are bone cells normally found in the outer layer of bones beneath the periosteum, and work to break down bone tissue so that it can release the minerals..."_

 _As she began reciting the long, jargon-heavy summary of her research on bone resorption Ryuusuke just listened in placid silence, face perfectly smooth and blank._

 _But deep inside his shadowy eyes she could see the glint of relief, and it just made her stomach curl even more tightly and painfully than before._

* * *

" _Tsunade-sensei, I know it looks bad, but—I need to do this. No one can know about this. Please, I_ beg _you!_ "

 _She was shaking._

 _She could feel herself_ shaking _as she stared at Ryuusuke, her face screwed up in absolute rage. Fear and apprehension warred on her student's face as he stood before her, a cowering Ryoko huddled on the ground behind him clutching at her bloodied sleeve._

 _She didn't think the shaking was just because of the blood on the girl's swollen wrist—_ so much blood, seeping through her fingers and staining everything, the rise and fall of his chest slowing beneath her fingers with each ragged breath _—or from the chilly winds of late autumn. She didn't think it came from the revulsion of seeing such a horrid wound on a genin_ here _, safe in the confines of Konoha and miles away from the nearest battlefields. No, she_ knew _where it came from, all too well._

 _"This," she seethed through gritted teeth. "_ This _is why you wanted to learn medical ninjutsu, isn't it?"_

 _Ryuusuke winced at her cold tone, his face wavering briefly. Behind him Ryoko flinched too, and bit her lip as she tried to scramble to her feet. "P-please, don't get mad at him!" she pleaded, only to cry out as she winced and grabbed at her wrist._

 _"Ryoko!" Alarm surged in Ryuusuke's voice as he spun to face her, catching her before her legs could give out. Her face twisted in pain as she leaned into him while clutching her wrist, red seeping around her fingers and a brief glimpse of white visible beneath them._

 _On any other day, the sight would make Tsunade nauseous. Just seeing the smallest glimpse of red on people's clothing and bandages had been enough to make her sick to the stomach lately, prompting her to stray from the hospital more and more. Her shaky hands were no good for healing, she couldn't keep them steady long enough to do more good than harm like this._

 _But for the first time since that horrible blood-drenched day on the battlefields she didn't care about the sight of blood. Tsunade strode over and grabbed the girl, shoving her to the ground and practically ripping the sleeve off her shirt to expose her arm. The wound was ugly, a jagged piece of bone jutting out from her wrist just above the palm in a gory mess._

 _"This is why you wanted to learn to heal broken bones," she growled, glowing green hands pumping chakra into the wound. "This is why you wanted to learn to heal cuts. This is why you wanted to learn iryo-ninjutsu. Not for some sense of duty to the village, but to hide_ this _!"_

 _She spat the word, venom lacing her tone as she roughly shoved the piece of bone back into place. "Ryoko!" Ryuusuke yelled when the girl cried out, lurching forward on reflex, but he stopped in his tracks when he received an icy glare from Tsunade._

 _No one spoke as she mended the bone and the arteries which had been cut by it's displacement, the only sound Ryoko's half-strangled whimpers as she tried to keep from sobbing at the intense pain. Only when the skin had closed, the bone fixing into place and arteries whole once more, did Tsunade finally cease the flow of chakra and rise. She didn't look at either of them as she turned around, blood-covered fists clenched tightly at her sides._

 _"Don't you dare try to do anything with that hand for a month," she ordered, cold and seething._

 _"But—but I have training!" Ryoko protested, ignoring Ryuusuke's attempts to shush her. The genin winced when Tsunade turned her head, amber eyes blazing with rage._

 _"I don't fucking care!" she snarled. "At this rate you're going to sabotage your entire career! And you, Ryuusuke!" The boy winced, rising sharply to meet her stern gaze with wide eyes. He shrunk as her face twisted into an ugly and ferocious scowl, making sure her gaze displayed the full extent of her rage. "You've been actively conspiring to hide this for at_ least _three years! You're a medic, you should know better!"_

 _His face crumpled, looking stricken and heartbroken at the admonishment. "S-sensei, I-I..." He trailed off, voice too shaky to speak, and once again Ryoko struggled to her feet._

 _"P-please, don't blame him!" she begged, repeating her earlier plea. Grimacing as she tried not to jostle her bad arm too much, she dipped into her deepest bow yet. "He wanted to tell someone, but I begged him not to. He was just trying to help me!"_

 _"That doesn't matter," Tsunade snapped, her patience running thin. "Uchiha Ryuusuke is my student. I taught him better than this." She turned on her heel, her pigtails whipping behind her. "I won't report it this time. But I swear to the Sage himself, if you let this continue to escalate, I will step in and take measures myself. You're a Leaf ninja now. Your life belongs to Konoha, you're not allowed to throw it away."_

 _She didn't wait for either of them to respond, just stalked away._

 _That night she went to the bar and got drop-dead drunk. She didn't remember how she got home, just knew she woke up in a pile on the floor inside her front door. Her back felt stiff and uncomfortable and her head_ pounded _but she didn't care. All she could do was stand in her bathroom scrubbing her hands nearly raw in an attempt to get off the blood, tears streaming down her face._

* * *

 _There was no repeat of that incident._

 _Four years later Dan's brother and sister-in-law died in battle. At the funeral Tsunade held the hand of a little dark-haired girl barely five going on six, red-eyed and sniffling as they watched smoke rise from the crematorium because there hadn't been enough left of her parents to bother with a complete burial. Behind her Tsunade could sense Ryuusuke standing in silent mourning with his head bowed, and Ryoko whispering promises to the little girl to make her a pretty urn for the ashes because wouldn't that be nice, something special and unique just to them?_

 _And her stomach_ twisted _at the idea of this little girl being left with nothing but a ceramic jar of ashes as she was shunted into an orphanage. Only growing up knowing of her uncle as a name on a gravestone and her aunt just another victim on the memorial for the attack on Konoha during the Second War, her parents' faces eventually fading with time as all memories do—_

 _Her teeth ground at the idea, her grip on the tiny little hand squeezing just a bit tighter._

 _No more._

 _There was no glory in the life of a shinobi. Shinobi did nothing but march off to war and die, good people dying far too young and their innocence shattered and broken and violently torn to shreds before they even realized it existed. They just left behind destruction on the battlefields and gaping holes in people's hearts, scarring the world wherever they walked._

 _Two weeks later she walked out Konoha's gates, a sealing scroll with all the possessions she cared about shoved in her bag and a little girl walking by her side. The child twisted around to wave back at Ryuusuke and Ryoko as Konoha vanished from sight, while she kept her gaze firmly forward._

 _She ignored the sad look in her student's eye as she left._

 _She didn't bother responding to the wedding invitation a cat delivered to her a few months later._

 _She did respond to a few of the letters, about the biology of the eye and how the Sharingan impacted both the chakra and optical networks._

 _She got annoyed when they somehow tracked her down to a bar near the borders of Tea and asked her to be their child's godmother despite_ not even being pregnant yet _, but grudgingly agreed when they paid off her debt to the loan sharks hounding her._

 _And when she got an invitation to a baby shower, she commissioned a small charm from a blacksmith in Iron, a little brass pin in the shape of the Senju clan symbol to be attached to a necklace and sent it to Ryoko to wear during the pregnancy._

* * *

 _"What did you just say?"_

 _Tsunade felt numb as she stared at the brown-haired man, his radiant smile so like her grandfather's it felt painful. For once she had no problems putting down the open bottle of sake in her hand, her drunken stupor instantly snapping into stone-cold sobriety as she stared at her former student._

 _"This is crazy," she whispered. "You—you sound like you're committing suicide." Next to her Shizune looked equally pale and stricken, her eyes wide with disbelief as she processed the scene unfolding before her._

 _"Ryuusuke-senpai," she whispered, and the title made Tsunade's stomach even more because the two had only met a handful of times and yet they both called her master, a kindred bond never able to be fostered beyond the regular letters carried around by those cats she so enjoyed cursing out._

 _Ryuusuke just smiled at them, dark eyes glittering and sad. "It's okay, Shizune-chan, Tsunade-shishou. I know I might not make it out alive, but I've made my peace with that." Tsunade couldn't speak, just stared at him in shock. Shizune had no such compunctions though, slamming her hands on the table as she sharply rose._

 _"You have children on the way!" the teenager protested. "_ Twins _! And Ryoko-san—she's been through so much already! You can't leave now and leave her alone!"_

 _Guilt flickered across his face, Shizune's words clearly striking home, and at the same time Tsunade felt a spark of emotion flare inside her. "They're Senju," she whispered. The name felt alien and odd on her tongue, unused for so long she almost couldn't remember how to use it, but saying it sparked the fire stronger, her hands clenching as she stared up at him._

 _"Those children are_ Senju _," she repeated, more firmly and clearly this time. "They're not just your family, they're the last remnants of my clan—no, of_ our _clan!"_

 _The words felt so bitter on her tongue, her mouth dry and thick even as her vision blurred. Ryuusuke may bear the Uchiha name but he had Senju blood in his veins, even if his grandparents had both been fringe members of their clans married off in a sign of good-will after the village's founding. No matter how thin the relation was though, it did not change the fact that he shared the same blood in his veins—quite possibly the_ only _one left besides her._

 _Even now she could see the ghosts of her family in his face. His broad nose so much like her Aunt Kamako's, his hair the same shade as her cousin Touma, and his smile so much like her brother and their grandfather before him—_

 _She found her throat suddenly thick and lumpy as she stared up at the stone-faced man, so different from the boy who had been treated as an outcast by his family for bearing blood belonging their former enemies._

 _"You," she bit out, and her voice sounded so raw and hoarse, rawer than it had been since—since—_

 _(—since she stared at the blanket-covered form of a child that could no longer be recognized,)_

 _(—since she screamed herself raw as she pumped chakra into a dying man's chest,)_

 _(—since she woke up to a red stain on her too-bright white sheets and a hollowness in her stomach where a small life once resided.)_

 _"I'm sorry," Ryuusuke said simply, and dipped into that goddamn bow just like that day so many years ago when they had first met. "I can't tell you what I'm doing, but if I succeed, this will make things so much better. And if I don't..." She could sense his smile grow a little sardonic at that, perfectly able to picture the small twist to his mouth where the corners raised up ever so slightly. "Well, maybe I'll at least be able to do some good and deliver some good news."_

 _Grief flashed in his face at that, the familiar look Tsunade used to see on the battlefield when her comrades talked their waiting families back at home with the knowledge they would likely never see their unborn children. Her stomach twisted, having hoped to never see it again, let alone on her own_ student _._

 _"But I have to do this," he continued, his voice so calm—how did he keep it so steady?—as he met her eyes. "Not just for myself, but for Ryoko and the twins as well. If I don't, I feel like we'll always have regrets. But, because I know there's a chance I won't make it back, please."_

 _He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick envelope, clearly hand-made with pale yellow paper covered in faint swirls which almost shimmered in the light. "This is a letter to the twins. I want you to give it to them."_

 _Her stomach sank as she stared at it, the numbness creeping back up. Once again Shizune recovered her composure first, tears sprouting in the corner of her eyes as she stalked over to him. "That's it?" she demanded harshly. "You want us to deliver a letter for your unborn children? What about your wife, the woman who you swore to protect!? Are you just going to leave her alone with nothing?!"_

 _"Of course not," Ryuusuke deflected, shaking his head. "Years ago when I had to go back to the field, we made two boxes, each one connected to our lives." He held up his wrist as he spoke, revealing a small black heart. Another sharp pang hit Tsunade as she remembered all those years ago when she'd found Ryoko with bone jutting from her wrist in the exact same place. "If I die, the box will spring open and reveal my letter to her." Shizune seemed taken aback by how calmly he stated that, and after a moment he lowered his wrist with a sigh._

 _"Why are you giving this to us, then?" Tsunade demanded lowly. She couldn't look at him anymore, just turned back to the table and stared down at the half-drunk sake with no appetite for the devilish liquid. "Why not just leave the letter there? We're not involved." She could feel Ryuusuke look at her once more, but she didn't turn around, just waited for him to speak._

 _Then she felt a hand touch on her shoulder, and she jerked her head upwards to find him leaning over her, a gentle smile on his face._

 _"Because," he said softly, reaching down to the table just like that day in her study after Nawaki had died, "You're my children's godmother. You said it yourself, they're your family too, and I can't imagine a better reason to trust you. You might not believe in yourself anymore, but I never lost my faith in you."_

 _She felt him press something smooth and round into her hands, and she looked down to see a hand-carved wooden bracelet with a red lacquer finish._

" _Shishou, thank you for teaching me all these years._ "

* * *

Now here she stood thirteen years later, staring at one of the two children of her former student and one of the final remnants of two clans. The last child with any of her blood, the child her grandfather would have hailed as a symbol of peace between their feuding clans for merely existing. Yet no matter how she looked at him Tsunade saw not Senju or Uchiha, but instead the boy who had called master.

She saw Ryuusuke in his hair ( _the exact same shade of brown and twice as messy_ ), in his chin ( _slightly round with a regal point that would be so handsome once he lost his baby fat_ ), in the eyes ( _shaped just like his mother's but with that same amount of soul always visible even in the pitch black depths_ )—

Tsunade looked at Uchiha Masaru and saw the ghost of a bright-eyed boy full of firm determination, the same boy who became a stone-faced man willing to go to his death and leave behind a family he would get a chance to meet, all in the name of some cause she never knew.

"He was the first Uchiha-born medic," she told him, voice hollow yet so very heavy and thick. "I trained him myself for years, starting in his final year at the academy before he even became a genin. He had four years on your mother and saved countless lives during the war, and yet everyone probably knew him more as her husband than for his skill."

She had to pause at that, her teeth ready to grind as she remembered the isolation he received from his clan because of the blood in his veins. Ryuusuke had been as fierce as a dragon and one of the brightest prodigies she had ever met, but the Uchiha never seemed to care. His greatness had been eclipsed by the small genius girl who he had treated as a sister and eventually fallen in love with. And yet—

"And yet he never complained. He was fine with being forgotten and ignored while your clan worshipped your mother for her work on the Sharingan, even though practically everything she knew about the Sharingan's biology came from him. He loved her too much to be jealous, and even though you and your sister hadn't been born, he loved you two just as much."

Masaru just stared at her in silence, his eyes wide. She couldn't look at him, once again forced to avert her gaze before the ghost of yet another lost loved one could rise and haunt her once more. She shoved her hand in the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a sealing scroll and thrusting it towards him. The boy quickly shot out his hands to accept it, nearly stumbling back with the force she used to shove it into his hands.

His breath caught as he stared at it. "Is this—?"

"That scroll has a letter from your father," Tsunade told him briskly. "He gave it to me thirteen years ago, two months before you were born, to pass on to you and your sister someday in case he died." She could hear the sharp intake of breath, _feel_ the sudden reverence that washed over him as he gazed down at the scroll.

His fingers curled around it carefully, his head bowing. "Thank you," he murmured, voice so quiet she could barely hear it, and when she glanced back at him she saw a ghost hovering behind him, a wisp of a smile crossing its lips.

Somewhere nearby a bird chirped loudly, singing a farewell song to the waning summer as it took to the skies.

("Thank you, shishou. Thank you for everything.")

* * *

 **Not much to say. It almost feels filler-ish, but this chapter has some VERY important bits of foreshadowing and explanations. I'll clarify now, Masaru will NEVER have the Rinnegan. Ryuusuke's grandparents were fringe members of the Uchiha and Senju clans, their blood is too diluted to trigger it. It is, however, an important plot point for reasons which will become clear later.  
**

 **Also, I want to apologize for the miscarriage scene. I got the idea from "Clarity of Perception" on AO3 by Shyaway95 and teslatempest. I felt it made Tsunade's hemophobia even more justified, and also makes her long-lasting grief and decision to take Shizune outside of Konoha that much more understandable. I know it's not pleasant, and I** **can't possibly begin to imagine how such a loss must feel, but I feel** **like it makes all of her decisions that much more powerful.  
**

 **Also, on the note of everyone's ages: I'm using the timeline made by Seelentau on the Naruto wiki to figure this all out. I figure Ryuusuke's grandparents got married and had at least one child within two years of Konoha's founding in order to fulfill the terms of the political treaty, and then the eldest child quickly got married and had him around the time the Sannin would have been ten. At this point, I'm thinking Ryoko was a year older than Minato and Kushina, and Ryuusuke four years older than her. So had they been alive now, Ryoko would be around 38 and Ryuusuke about 42. Ryuusuke died at age 29, when Ryoko was 25, and she later died at 33.** ** **On a related note, it's not mentioned on the timeline but**** ** ** **Nawaki was probably the same age as Mikoto since their registration IDs are close. So he probably died around 14 years before canon, when Ryuusuke would have been about 15, and Ryoko about 11.  
******

 **Thanks to all the reviewers: Blackdrake (Very good theory~), Elise142, Mr Beaver Buttington, Guest (please, share your theory, I love theories!), xXSpades231Xx, May525, ManawaSasa, GoTherka (thanks for the spree reviews! And on the note of Masaru's reaction, let's just say there's more to it than meets the eye), Guest, Normandy1998 (well right now Sasuke has no motivation to leave, so that's one wrench in the plans), dreckman, TheSupevict (there IS a panther summon in "Yeah, Kunai are cool but have you had dessert?" although the protagonist is a civilian baker) and reebajee (you are making some VERY good catches~).  
**

 **See you all next week!**


	56. Chapter 53: Failure is Okay

Chapter 53

* * *

 _"Failure does not mean the end of the world. Usually, anyway. Sometimes it might, but lucky for us, those kinds of scenarios are VERY rare and typically only apply to people in strong positions of power."_

* * *

Two reports sat on the Hokage's desk, each one containing a different piece of the same story. He arched an eyebrow as he studied the files, puffing lightly on his pipe as his eyes slowly slid upwards. Shikamaru, Sakura, Sasuke and Masaru stood at ready attention across from him, all four looking tenser than usual after delivering their verbal debrief.

"I must say, this report certainly exceeds my expectations," he commented wryly, and Shikamaru nodded tightly.

"The appearance of Senju Tsunade and the masked man threw us off," he explained, trying to sound dull and unaffected like usual, but the others could detect a note of tension in his voice. "We didn't react appropriately, and allowed our emotions to get the better of us, ultimately ending in the mission's failure."

Next to him Sakura shuffled awkwardly, frowning. "It's... it's my fault, mostly," she declared, looking thoroughly ashamed with herself. "My report goes into detail on why, s-so... Don't blame Shikamaru too much." The others frowned at her claim, eying her warily. Thus far Sakura had avoided expanding on _why_ she felt so responsible, leaving the reasoning to their imaginations, but they were at least able to piece together some sort of connection to Yuzu based on her minor meltdown.

Sasuke inhaled deeply, visibly steeling himself before speaking. "We all screwed up," he said bluntly. "We made multiple mistakes over the course of the mission." His voice took on a strained edge, as if it took immense effort and willpower to even admit that much.

The Hokage just regarded them in silent contemplation, eyes sliding to the last team member. "Do you have any input, Masaru-kun?" he asked, and the boy winced before sighing.

"I... lost my cool and attacked without thinking," he admitted reluctantly. "I let the enemy's words get to me, and... I could have hurt myself if he hadn't stopped me." He shrunk back as he spoke, ducking his head in a fair mixture of shame, guilt and embarrassment. The Hokage just nodded, removing his pipe from his lips and leaning forward with a sharp gleam in his eyes.

"This mission may have failed, but these are some of the most extraordinary circumstances for a 'failure' I've ever seen," he informed them bluntly. "While you all made many mistakes, many of your decisions also showed careful consideration and planning despite everything that occurred. All of you are young, and the situation took multiple turns that I expect would have thrown off even more seasoned chuunin and jounin. With that in mind, I cannot fault you for the final outcome."

The group nodded, some of the tension gradually seeping from their shoulders. This mission marked the first time any of them had actually _failed_ a mission, so hearing the Hokage say that reassured them somewhat. "With that said," he continued, leaning back, "I want you all to prepare detailed reports on the events of the mission—particularly the final night—so I suggest you use that as an opportunity to reflect on what you did wrong. You'll have the next week off from active duty, so I suggest you use that time accordingly. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the group chorused, faces firming with resolve, and he smiled with a satisfied dip of his head.

"Good. I believe that should suffice for now. Sakura-chan, please remain behind, I'd like to hear the rest of your report in private. Everyone else may leave."

The group nodded and filed out of the office, leaving a stiff and rigid Sakura alone to face the Hokage. As they headed down the stairs Masaru heaved a large sigh, shoulders slumping tiredly. "That," he muttered, "was the most nerve-wracking thing I've ever done. I was expecting to get lectured about responsibility or something."

"We'll probably get an earful from our teachers later," Shikamaru sighed, and then grimaced as he added, "Though I'm more worried about my family than Asuma-sensei. Man, my mom's gonna flip when she hears what happened..."

Masaru winced in sympathy, while Sasuke remained unmoved by the complaint. "I don't think Kakashi's even in the village right now," he commented. "He's been on missions nonstop since the invasion because of the shortage."

"Yeah, Tenzo-sensei's been busy too," Masaru agreed with a nod. "I only saw him once after I got discharged, I think he's back on full rotation now." He had some very specific suspicions about _what_ his teacher had been busy with, but he felt it wise not to share them. Mokuton gave his teacher some very specific abilities, abilities which he didn't think he should go around talking about.

Shikamaru, however, side-eyed him anyway. "Tenzo-sensei?" he repeated. "So what, was Gaku a codename?" Masaru looked at him in surprise, not sure if he should be more concerned or impressed that Shikamaru had picked up on that. He'd forgotten that most of the Rookie Ten wouldn't know about the Tenzo/Gaku name thing.

"Uh, yeah. It's, really complicated and semi-classified, so we're not supposed to call him Tenzo outside the village. But how'd you figure it out so fast?"

"My dad's jounin commander, and Ino's dad is head of T&I," Shikamaru replied with a lazy shrug. "I can think of a couple people who'd visit with new names each time." Masaru hummed, easily accepting the answer. No matter how hard a person might try to keep work and home life separate, some positions just didn't allow for a perfectly clean break between the two. Shinobi had a full-time responsibility to their village after all; even after retirement there would always be a chance of getting called back into action. The invasion had been a perfect example of that.

At this point Sasuke grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets, breaking his thoughts. "Tch, whatever. We're done here, so I'm going back to the apartment to grab lunch and head to the training grounds."

"Yeah, I should get home too," Shikamaru sighed. "Better to just get it over with, I guess. I should probably get down everything about that guy while the memory's kind of fresh."

"Didn't you spend the last two days doing that?" Masaru deadpanned. Lazy as he tended to be, the close encounter with the masked man had _clearly_ disturbed Shikamaru enough to devote all of his thoughts to it. Every time they'd stopped for a break he'd take out the report sheets and just scribble down notes with a frustrated expression, eventually having to pull blank pages from a notebook after running out of room.

"They'll want as much information as possible," he countered with a shrug. "That's probably why he asked Sakura to stay behind." Both Uchiha frowned at that. Sakura had been much the same as Shikamaru, constantly hovering over reports when they had downtime during the return trip, though she'd looked more upset and shaken than the Nara. Whenever they tried to look over her shoulder she'd jerk away and hide the papers from view. Everything about her reactions _screamed_ guilt, but none of them felt particularly inclined to press her on _what_ she felt guilty about.

Sasuke scowled, turning his head away. "Tch. Guess I should work on that too."

"I think I'll just take a walk," Masaru decided quietly. "Just... it's been a rough few days, I need to unwind a bit." He also didn't want to spend any excessive time with Sasuke at the moment. While things had cooled down between them, he thought they both needed some time alone to process... well, everything.

The others just grunted in agreement, accepting his words at face value. After that none of them bothered with the usual pleasantries, each heading their own way. Masaru didn't make it far though before Shikamaru called out, "Hey, Masaru." Surprised, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder curiously to find the Nara eying him, a strange glint in his eye. "You're a lot different from what I expected."

The comment earned a surprised blink from the brunet, Masaru's brow furrowing as he turned to face the other boy. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Back in the academy you were always quiet and just kinda sad," Shikamaru responded with a shrug. "And then when we took that joint D-rank, you were pretty much moping and awkward the whole time when Ino wasn't bothering you. I didn't peg you to be so sarcastic or have such a dry sense of humor."

Masaru blinked and turned away slowly, his expression more thoughtful now as he considered it. Shikamaru was right. Back during the academy Masaru almost never spoke, always preferring to remain silent and keep to himself, and even after graduating he tended to be one of the more quiet rookies. "I guess it's because I'm more used to you now?" he finally said with a shrug. "I'm mostly awkward around strangers. Do I really seem that different though...?"

"Just a bit," Shikamaru confirmed with a nod. "Keep it up. Suits you better than moping all the time." With that he turned and walked away, leaving Masaru to stare after him. After a long moment the Uchiha slowly turned and resumed walking, a faint sense of contentment filling him as he smiled. Looks like he might have made a new friend.

Walking through the streets of Konoha proved to be more therapeutic than expected. All of the rubble left by the invasion had finally been cleared during their absence, leaving the streets feeling a bit cleaner than before. Reconstruction still waged around him, carpenters buzzing around half-finished buildings and other genin helping carry tools, but it felt alive again. Less sad and empty, more alive and vibrant.

Konoha had nearly fallen in the invasion, but it had emerged stronger than ever.

Really, it would probably be a lot more inspiring if not for the ongoing construction. As he neared one particularly noisy site he winced slightly, the banging ringing painfully in his ears—namely, his right one. The _deaf_ one. Sometimes Masaru forgot about the more annoying parts of sudden partial deafness. Everything sounded imbalanced and his deaf ear would ring occasionally, as if trying to fill in the gap for the sound it should be hearing.

Grimacing, he altered his path away from it and steered into an alley while carefully adjusting the flow of chakra to his right ear. His other senses seemed to fade as he focused purely on the circulation of chakra there, the world darkening as the muscles and tissue tingled with the constantly shifting flow.

"...absolutely disgraceful." A voice drifted into his attention from his left, the words low and only faintly audible in the distance. Even so he could pick up the harsh scolding tone, quiet but with that strong air of authority that instantly made his stomach churn. He couldn't hear everything said, the construction and ringing drowning out most of the words, but he could pick up enough.

"Just yesterday... heiress... shameful to admit... the entire time?"

"I-I-I... I-I-I..." Masaru tensed as he heard the quiet whisper, barely audible over all the other noise, but even so he recognized the soft tones. _Hinata_? Frowning, he tried to ignore everything else as he strained to listen closer, catching a quiet, high-pitched noise that after a second he identified as a sob. "I-I'm s-s-sorry. P-p-please, I-I'm n-not t-trying to—t-to—"

"Enough," the old man cut in icily. "Your stutter is just further evidence of my point. You are a disgrace to the Main House. It has been over a month, we have let your little 'episode' last long enough. It is time for you to return home so we can deal with your behavior— _properly_."

"I-I..." Hinata made another high-pitched sound, her soft sobs drifting around the corner. As Masaru listened he felt his fists clench, the world flickering red for a brief second before he squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again he turned and peered around the corner, his teeth clenched tightly.

A stern-looking old man towered above Hinata, wrinkles giving his face a severe edge and his white eyes icy in their coldness. In comparison Hinata looked tiny and fragile, her eyes red around the edges and swollen with tears as her shoulders shook. Her cheeks looked pale and shined with tears, yet at the same time they seemed just slightly more sunken in than he remembered.

The man's gaze slid to the side, landing on Masaru. Masaru said nothing, just met the man's eyes briefly with a cold look of his own before stepping into sight and walking past them. Hinata jumped in surprise, her eyes wide, but Masaru made a point not to look at her as he continued on on his way. Only after he turned another corner and they vanished from sight did he stop, shoving his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut with a grimace. The noise had started to get to him again, the pounding of hammers ringing and his right ear tingling as it tried to fill in the gap for the sound it should be hearing.

A small nudge on his ankle brought him back to reality, and he peeked open one eye to peer downwards to meet a familiar golden eye.

"Masahige?" he whispered, voice barely audible even to himself. The feline's lone eye squinted up at him, and then with a flick of his ear he rose and trotted away, his thin, coarse-haired tail brushing against Masaru's leg briefly. The contact sent a small jolt through him, and almost as if in a trance he turned to follow.

Masahige led him away from the street, the noises of construction soon fading behind him. The ringing in his gradually faded with distance, and by the time they stopped in another alleyway Masaru felt much better. "Thanks," he sighed, and the feline nodded once.

"You were gone for a long time," he commented, lone eye narrowing warily, and Masaru smiled wanly as he offered a half-hearted shrug.

"I had a mission."

"I see." The cat's chest rumbled a bit, and then he sat on his haunches and reached his nose for the pouch strapped to his side. "While you were gone you got a letter." He carefully pulled out an envelope, his grip on it loose so his teeth wouldn't break the paper, and Masaru blinked before carefully taking it. The handwriting on it was unfamiliar and a bit childish, but his eyes lit up as he realized who it must be from.

"Is this from Fu?" he asked. "I thought this would be sent to the Hokage's office!" The deal with Shibuki had been that they'd address the letters to each village's administration offices, sending them with the normal business correspondence. Hidden villages had plenty of secrets to hide, so naturally both villages had strict procedures about contacting foreign shinobi to make sure nothing sensitive would be sent.

"It was inspected by the intelligence office, if that's what you mean," Masahige interjected, one ear flicking lazily. Turning it over, Masaru saw the envelope had indeed been opened and resealed at some point. "From what I know they made a copy of the letter for records-keeping, and they expect you to give them your reply to forward. Originally they planned to give it to you after you returned, but I asked to deliver it to you myself."

"Thanks, Masahige." Masaru smiled warmly at the ninneko, bending down to scratch behind his ear when it flicked again. A content gleam shined in his eye, tilting his head to lean into Masaru's hand briefly.

"You look rather pleased today, Masaru-kun," a voice commented behind him, and Masaru perked up, recognizing the voice instantly. Sure enough, when he turned around he found none other than Sai standing behind him, a satchel loaded with painting supplies slung over his shoulder.

His eyes lit up at the sight of the other boy, standing straight while slipping the envelope into his kunai pouch. "Sai!" he greeted enthusiastically. "It's been too long!" The other boy blinked once, mildly surprised by the sudden burst of energy.

"It has only been two weeks, has it not?" he said after a beat, sounding slightly puzzled. "Is that a long time?" Masaru laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I guess not _that_ long. Sorry, just a bit excited I guess." He and Sai had only met a few times since their first encounter, but so far he found the other boy's demeanor refreshing. Overly blunt and a bit naïve, he seemed to be even more oblivious to social norms than Masaru. Still, the two had struck up a good rapport and spent plenty of time discussing their sadly uncommon shared interest: art.

"Ah." Sai nodded, his gaze sliding to the cat behind him. "I did not know you knew any ninneko."

"Oh, right. Sai, this is Masahige," Masaru quickly introduced. "He's one of my mom's old ninneko summons."

"And he's still here?" Sai looked very curious now, and the feline huffed, his chest puffing out.

"Not all summons live in another dimension, brat. I have no reason to stay away from Konoha just because my former partner died." He rose at that point, his rough tail pointed high as he turned around. "I've finished my business so I'll be taking my leave now. Be careful, boy."

"I always am," Masaru replied with a long-suffering smile, and watched the cat gracefully leap onto a trashcan and then the rooftop before disappearing. Feeling content, he turned to face Sai once more, rocking on his feet. "What are you up to? Off to paint something new?"

"I was on my way to the art store, actually," Sai replied. "I wanted to pick up some colored ink paints to experiment after our last conversation." Masaru perked up at the news, flashing an excited grin.

"Really? Great! I was hoping you would. I'm really curious what your paintings will look like with actual colors involved."

"It will certainly require some adjustment. I've used only black ink for a long time now. Would you like to come? I'd like your input on what colors to get."

"Maybe. I _was_ thinking of picking up some more pencils and a better eraser..." Since meeting Sai he'd started trying his hand at drawing, and while his skills paled in comparison to the dark-haired boy or his mother, he did find it fun.

"We could have another art lesson afterwards," Sai offered. As he spoke he... well, at this point Masaru had determined the expression he made was, in fact, meant to be a smile, but it still didn't really feel like one. Something about it felt off, a bit too hollow to be one. Either way though, Masaru had come to recognize the gesture as a positive one and he hummed in thought.

"Well, I'd have to go back home to grab my sketchbook..." He trailed off, a familiar voice catching his attention. Turning his head slightly, he spied a flash of orange disappear around a nearby corner, and felt his smile change to something softer as he turned back to his friend. "Actually, I'm sorry, but I just remembered I have something else to do. Maybe we can go later? I have the week off, so I should have time."

"Alright," Sai responded, nonplussed by the refusal. "I'll see you around, then."

"See you," Masaru replied, and then took off after the flash of orange. Sliding around the corner, he perked up as he confirmed his suspicions and saw Naruto walking down the street, talking to an unfamiliar little boy with brown hair and a long blue scarf.

"I'm telling you Konohamaru, ramen's the way to go!" the blond berated his companion loudly.

"But Boss, we have ramen for lunch almost every day!" the boy—apparently Konohamaru—complained. "And we had it for dinner three times, too!"

"Would've been every day if your mom let me," Naruto grumbled.

" _Bosssss_! Come on, even you've gotta have limits!" Masaru silently snickered as the smaller boy whined in dismay, creeping up behind the pair.

"Trying to rebuild your ramen cup armchair?" he whispered into Naruto's ear, and grinned as the blond leaped away with a startled scream.

"GAH! WHAT THE HELL!?" Spinning to face him in shock, his eyes practically bulged in surprise as he blurted, " _MASARU_!?" While he boggled Masaru in surprise, a small blur zoomed past him straight for Masaru.

"Stay away from Boss!" Konohamaru yelled, charging with what probably equated to a battle cry. The Uchiha watched the boy rush at him for about two seconds before calmly stepping to the side at the last second, causing the boy to fumble past him and tumble to the ground with an 'oof'.

"Dodging is a thing," he commented casually, smiling pleasantly at the child. Konohamaru grumbled as he got to his feet, whirling around to face him with an angry scowl.

"Shut up!" he shouted, preparing to charge again. Before he could though Naruto quickly got between them, waving his arms.

"Stop! Stop! Masaru's a friend— _ack_!" He yelped as Konohamaru ran right into him, causing them both to tumble to the ground. As they groaned Masaru just watched with that same pleasant smile in place.

"Hey Naruto," he greeted with a cheery wave. "It's been a while, huh?" The blond just stared at him sourly from beneath Konohamaru, thoroughly unimpressed.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you," he grumbled, and Masaru's grin grew a bit wider. Sneaking up on Naruto turned out to be even more entertaining than he thought. Konohamaru, however, did not seem as amused, as he leaped off the orange-clad genin to glare at Masaru, pointing at him accusingly while yelling.

"You did that on purpose!"

"You mean dodge?" Masaru asked innocently. "Yeah. I'm a ninja, why wouldn't I dodge?" Only then did he notice the green goggles Konohamaru wore, causing him to perk up and glance at Naruto. "Hey, those look kinda like the goggles you used to wear."

"Oh, right! Uh, just a sec, ow." Naruto rubbed his arm as he got up, a bit sore from being knocked down. "Yeesh, that ground's hard... Anyways, Masaru, this is Konohamaru, my subordinate!" He beamed proudly at Masaru and Konohamaru quickly imitated the grin, though he looked a bit more smug.

"That's right! I'm Sarutobi Konohamaru, future sixth Hokage! Right after Boss!" Sixth Hokage? Masaru's eyes darted briefly towards a proud Naruto. Something told him that Naruto probably wouldn't be able to be the _Fifth_ Hokage, since the Third would probably want to retire before that. Or alternatively, he might die of old age.

...Probably better not to mention that last part in front of a child from the Third Hokage's clan.

"Nice to meet you," he replied politely, and then turned to Naruto. "But seriously, it's been a while."

"Haha, yeah, it has," Naruto agreed with a sheepish laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry if you missed me the last few days. I got a super-cool important mission outside the village!" His voice took on a smug note, clearly preening for praise and awe-filled exclamations, while Konohamaru bounced over to stand next to him with his arms folded over his chest.

"Yeah, Boss ran a B-rank!" he declared proudly. "Bet you can't say _that_!" Masaru just blinked at them.

"Oh, so _that's_ why you didn't go on the mission with us," he realized aloud, and Naruto nearly fell in his shock.

"Wait, wait, wait, _what_!? What mission!?"

"I got sent on a mission with Sasuke, Sakura and Shikamaru to get something from a merchant caravan. We just got back, like, an hour ago." Naruto just gawked at him while Konohamaru scowled once more.

"Yeah, well, so what!" the small boy snapped. "I bet it wasn't anywhere as cool and dangerous as Boss's mission! He had to help take a bunch of evil Sand ninja out of the village and make sure they didn't turn back and attack us again!"

"H-hey, they're not all evil!" Naruto protested. "Gaara's actually pretty cool now that he's—uh." He stopped short, shooting Masaru a panicked look as he remembered his presence. "A-actually, maybe we should talk about that later..." Masaru looked at him for a moment, tilting his head. From the sounds of it, Naruto had apparently befriended Gaara at some point. Which... sort of uncomfortable and worrisome, but really wasn't that odd for Naruto.

"So you had to escort the Sand ninja?" he asked curiously, and Naruto relaxed a bit before nodding.

"Ah, yeah. I'm not really, uh, supposed to say much about it though. Top secret and all that, y'know?"

"That's cool," Masaru responded with a shrug. "I guess it was a success then."

"Yep! What about you guys? And what was Shikamaru doing there? I mean, I get why _you_ 'd go, but, he has his own team!"

"It was sort of a test run for him to lead missions, I guess? I mean, now that he's chuunin he won't be working... with..." Masaru trailed off as Naruto's face suddenly turned blank, staring at him almost vacantly. "...Um... Naruto? Are you okay?"

"...Chuunin?" the blond whispered. "Shikamaru got _promoted_?"

"Did... did you not know?"

Naruto just stared at him in silence, which Masaru took to mean, ' _No, I did not know about my former classmate's promotion._ ' When the silence stretched on a few moments longer than hoped, he shifted and asked warily, "Are you—"

"WHAT THE HELL! WHY'D _HE_ GET PROMOTED AND NOT ME!?"

Masaru and Konohamaru both jumped at the sudden outburst, and judging from a startled shout nearby they weren't the only ones caught by surprise. "He got promoted _already_!? Come _on_! He didn't even get to _finish_ his fight! If anyone should've been promoted, it should've been _me_! I _totally_ stopped Gaara and saved Konoha!"

"Wasn't he technically stopped by that seal array?" Masaru deadpanned, and Naruto cringed, some of the color draining from his face.

"Uh... r-right," he muttered, looking suddenly a bit queasy. "Y-yeah, I guess so..." Masaru frowned, unsettled by the sudden shift. Naruto could go from hyper to disappointed in a heartbeat, but usually he didn't look so... _drained_. Even Konohamaru was looking at him worriedly, worry clear in his face.

"Boss? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, y-yeah!" Naruto said quickly, smiling sheepishly. "It's nothing, really!" He laughed loudly and forcibly while Masaru's eyes narrowed. _Liar._ It was definitely NOT nothing, something was bothering him. He didn't like seeing Naruto upset, that sort of forced smile didn't belong on his face.

"Maybe you're just hungry?" he suggested casually, and Naruto instantly perked up, his smile becoming more genuine.

"Yeah, totally! C'mon, let's go to Ichiraku's!"

"Boss, no!" Konohamaru whined. "We go there all the time! Can't we go somewhere else for once?"

"No way!" Naruto protested with a scowl. "Ichiraku's is the best place EVER!"

"Konohamaru's right," Masaru deadpanned. "You need more variety in your diet than just ramen." The look of shock and hurt on Naruto's face was admittedly hilarious.

"You, too, Masaru?" he whispered, sounding absolutely betrayed. Masaru just grabbed his wrist and started dragging him away, pointedly heading in the _opposite_ direction of Ichiraku's.

"Come on, there's a stir fry place nearby that's pretty good. I'll buy."

"Stir fry?" Naruto yelped. "But that's, like, mostly vegetables and stuff! Come on, at least pick a barbecue place!"

"Hey, I'm coming too!" Konohamaru hollered, chasing after them. As the unlikely trio headed down the street they failed to notice Sai watching from atop a nearby rooftop, humming in thought as he pulled out a small scroll and brush.

' _Target shows interest in jinchuuriki. More observation required to determine if interest is benign or hides ulterior motives._ ' He slipped the notebook back into the satchel and dropped to the street to follow, keeping well out of sight.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she exited the administration building, squinting against the harsh sunlight. Her debriefing with the Hokage had extended for more than a full hour, relocating to a private conference room so that Inoichi and Shikamaru's dad could listen in too. They'd wanted as many details on the masked man as possible, and while talking about it had been nerve-wracking she'd somehow managed to answer all their questions about her encounter.

Then the questioning had turned to her time with Tsunade, which had been more casual and gentle than the clinical interrogation she'd endured before. No, Sakura did not know if Tsunade would ever return to Konoha willingly. No, she couldn't say if Tsunade seemed happy with her life, she found Sakura too annoying to act natural. Yes, she still had Shizune. Yes, she still had that red bracelet, and why would they want to know about that?

Needless to say, Sakura had received less answers than she'd given.

Still, a few of her questions _did_ get answered. Naruto wouldn't leave the village for another external mission anytime soon (nor would the rest of the rookies after _this_ fiasco), and Kakashi-sensei would return from his own mission within two days. Two days until all of Team Seven would be in the village. Two days to prepare to tell them.

"Dammit, I don't want to do this," she moaned, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of her palms. She didn't want to deal with how her team would react, no amount of preparation would be enough. She could already imagine Naruto's heartbroken look, Sasuke's dark scowl and Kakashi's... well, she didn't know how he'd react. She'd tested the waters during the trip back by asking Masaru how he thought Kakashi would react once he found out what had happened during the mission.

His response hadn't been encouraging.

 _"He's going to invade either our apartment or your house," Masaru deadpanned instantly, catching her by surprise. When she looked at him inquisitively he shrugged and elaborated, "I'm not sure who he'll fuss over more. Our apartment would be easier to infiltrate since there aren't any adults to complain, but you had the worse experience and will probably trigger more of his defensive instincts. It could go either way."_

 _"You sound like you've put a lot of thought into this," she commented, a bit off-put by the speediness of his response, and Masaru leveled her with an unimpressed look._

 _"Do you know how bad he was during the second phase? I came home one night and found him making dinner. He lectured me on not stocking up on more varieties of food." Sakura paused, glancing at him quizzically._

 _"Can... Can he cook?" she asked hesitantly, and Masaru shrugged._

 _"Kind of? He got the rice fine but burnt the vegetables for the side, and he only half-cooked the trout. I think he's used to ration bars and take out, and forgot how to cook actual food."_

 _"That... lines up with our mission. He roasted a rabbit on the way back from Wave, he overdid it and burnt the skin."_

 _"...If he shows up to our apartment with a burnt rabbit corpse, I'm moving out."_

 _"Where would you go? There's a housing shortage right now so you don't have many options."_

 _"Sensei can build me a house," Masaru replied dryly, and Sakura opened her mouth but then paused as she considered the logic of that. Mokuton had its perks._

In the present she sighed and pinched the skin between her eyes. "Maybe it's good he's not here right now," she muttered to herself, and sighed again as she resumed her walk home. She half-expected to get intercepted by someone on her way there, but surprisingly no orange loudmouths or blond best friends popped out to grab her. She didn't know if she should be happy or disappointed she reached her house without trouble.

Sucking in a breath, she opened the door and stepped inside. "Mom? Dad? I'm home."

"Sakura!" Her father's joyous yell sounded from the living room, followed by a loud thud that made her wince.

"Dammit, Kizashi, that's the third time this week!" she heard her mother scold. Sakura pulled off her sandals and made her way over to find her father on the floor next to the couch, her mother standing next to him with a look of fond exasperation. "Really, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I should go give my little girl a hug," Kizashi moaned pitifully, and Sakura felt her mouth quirk into a smile despite the sharp pang of grief in her chest. Adjusting to her dad having one leg was still so hard, but at least he hadn't let it impact his sense of humor. Her parents were both so strong, to still be able to banter like that even now.

She wanted to be that strong too.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. "Mom, dad, I have something to tell you."

* * *

 **Well this was a messy chapter. Lots of stuff happening here in a short time, all setting up for the next major arc. Not much to say.  
**

 **Thanks to the reviewers as usual: Elise142, BloodRaven46 (honestly there could have been one in canon, just never seen), xXSpades231Xx (Thanks! 1. a very good question, which I cannot answer because spoilers, and 2. I'm not even sure anymore, "Uchiha Masaru" just sounded good), reebajee (very good speculation~) and May525 (have I not covered the drink? I thought I left some major hints, but I may have cut it out. Either way, its purpose will be made VERY clear when the time comes).**

 **See you next week!**


	57. Chapter 54: Scribble All Over

Chapter 54

* * *

 _"Every day is a blank page. You can either use it to continue a story, or just scribble randomly and see what you can make of it."_

* * *

 _Dear Masaru,_

 _Oh my gosh you actually wrote! I'm so excited! I thought I'd never hear from you again! I know you said you'd be my friend, but after I got back to Taki everyone was saying how hard it would be for inter-village friendships to work. I was starting to get sad and_

 _No! Bad Fu! This is the seventh time I've tried to write this letter, I'm not messing it up and starting over again!_

 _Sorry about that, I'm just super excited to hear from you! Shibuki says I shouldn't make this letter too long, or include any big secrets because this will probably be read by a bunch of stiff old fogeys. Maybe that's good, because I really don't know what to say. I've never written a letter before. So I guess I'll just introduce myself again!_

 _My name is Fu! My favorite color is red and I love anpan and roasted chestnuts! I also really love playing games even though I barely have anyone besides Shibuki to play them with._

 _Please write back soon!_

"Oi, Masaru, your breakfast is getting cold," Sasuke commented blandly, his chopsticks clinking against his bowl as he snagged another bite of rice. Masaru just hummed, eyes fixed on the open letter.

"Right, just a minute." He smiled faintly as read over the letter again, silently marveling at how much it sounded like her. The paper even seemed to _sparkle_ , just like how her orange eyes had when she smiled and—

 _Oh, wait._ "There's glitter on this," he realized, looking at the shimmering specks that reflected off his fingers where they'd touched the paper. Sasuke blinked and looked at him incredulously, eyes fixed on his sparkling fingertips.

"What the hell? Who sends a letter covered in glitter?"

"I... don't know if it was intentional," Masaru admitted sheepishly, carefully setting down the paper a safe distance from the rice bowl. There really hadn't been much glitter on the paper, and he eyed the sparkling substance on his fingers thoughtfully as he wondered if it even _was_ glitter. Shrugging it off, he got up while carefully avoiding touching the chair or table. "Be right back, I should wash my hands so I don't get any on the chopsticks."

Sasuke just scoffed softly and went back to eating while Masaru trotted off to the bathroom. Luckily it had been left open so he didn't have to risk getting glitter on the handle, and he used the back of his wrist to turn on the faucet and began scrubbing while wondering over how to reply.

Despite getting the letter yesterday, the day had been so eventful he hadn't even been able to think about it. First he ran into Masahige and Sai, and then he spent two hours with Naruto and Konohamaru arguing with the stubborn blond about his over-consumption of ramen. They had to shelve the intervention for another time when Konohamaru's friends showed up, leading to a three-hour game of ninja tag which ended with promises to help them train more later.

Between all of that he barely had the time or energy to think about Fu's letter. By the time he got home he'd been exhausted, only staying up long enough to eat a quick dinner and hop in the shower. It was probably just as well, since Masaru legitimately had no idea how to respond to her introductory note.

Writing letters gave him a strange sense of pressure that he didn't feel from talking; his words would be on the paper forever, and he had a lot of time to think about his response. Almost too much, actually. Maybe one day they'd reach a point of familiarity where they could jot down their replies without a second thought, but right now he just felt pressure to make it perfect. Thinking back on it, maybe Shibuki had a point about keeping it short.

For now he pushed the thought away and returned to the table, dropping into his seat and getting started on his own rice. Breakfast in the Uchiha household tended to be simple, nothing overly sweet or fancy like the cafes they visited on the mission. Usually they stuck to rice along with any leftovers from dinner, though today they only bothered preparing the rice.

"Any plans for today besides training?" he asked dryly as he ate, and Sasuke just scoffed.

"There's nothing else worth doing around here."

"You could get lunch with Naruto or visit Sakura's place. I'm sure her parents would enjoy the company."

He smirked as Sasuke winced, no doubt recalling his traumatic introduction to Sakura's father. Masaru still had yet to meet the man, but he'd heard enough about his horror monster reenactment at the hospital from Naruto to know even Sasuke had been faintly disturbed by it. He kind of regretted he hadn't been there, it sounded hilarious. After getting over the initial shock maybe he could have convinced the man to flop around the rest of the hospital to freak people out.

Let it be known that Uchiha Masaru had a very twisted sense of humor sometimes.

"Maybe you should go instead," Sasuke countered, trying his best not to sound too affected by the memory. Masaru just hummed, chewing on a mouthful of rice thoughtfully before swallowing and smiling at him.

"Can't. I have some errands to run, otherwise I'd be all over it." One of these days he really wanted to meet Haruno Kizashi. Intimidating and overwhelming as the man sounded, from what little he'd heard it seemed like they had similar senses of humor. Who knows what they could get up to if they combined forces?

After spending five years together Sasuke knew Masaru very well, because he seemed to sense the dangerous turn his thoughts took and shuddered. "I take it back, never meet him," he muttered, and Masaru beamed at him.

"Too late. Plans are being made."

Sasuke frowned, and decided it would be safer to change the topic. "What errands do you need to run, anyway?"

"Just... handling some stuff." Masaru shrugged, keeping his response intentionally vague. Across from him Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his dark look clearly demanding more information, and after a few moments Masaru decided to relent and throw him a bone. "I need to stop by the Yamanaka flower shop."

Sasuke's face instantly softened with sympathy. Visiting the Yamanaka flower shop meant a high chance of running into Ino, and meeting Ino usually meant lots of squealing and gushing. "Tch. Good luck with that. I'll be at the third training ground if you need me."

"If you've got nothing better to do, you should try to talk to people," he suggested with a shrug. Sasuke grunted, his face darkening as his hold on his chopsticks tightened.

"I don't have time to waste on idle chitchat. I need to get stronger so I can kill _that man_ —"

"Yes," Masaru cut in dryly, "because _obviously_ everyone gets stronger by just training alone without any variety." Sasuke blinked and scowled, teeth baring briefly as his eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about? I have plenty of variety in my training regiment!"

"Have you ever fought a ninken?" Masaru countered flatly. "Or tried to dodge two hundred kunai from three different directions at once?" That shut Sasuke up, the broodier of the pair shooting him an incredulous look. Shrugging, Masaru proceeded to pluck up another cluster of rice as he continued, "You weren't the only one training before the tournament. I spent a _lot_ of time at Kiba's place. Also, Tenten is kind of terrifying for a genin. She has better aim than you do."

"So what," Sasuke said slowly, eyes narrow and expression calculating, "You're saying I should meet new people so I can train with them?"

"Pretty much. Different people have different fighting styles. Like, there aren't many genjutsu users so you can't really practice as much with deflecting them."

"I don't need to practice blocking them. The Sharingan can see through genjutsu."

"The Sharingan is a _tool_ ," Masaru corrected, jabbing his chopsticks at his cousin with a frown before he resumed eating. "I spent the first eight years of my life listening to my mom rant about it. It uses up a lot of chakra, prolonged usage can start to deteriorate the optical nerves from strain and chakra corrosion, and it permanently carves everything we see into our brains. _Everything,_ " he repeated with a grimace. "Trust me, you don't want to become dependent on it."

Sasuke just stared at him questioningly, taking a few moments to absorb it. "Is that why you hid it all those years?" he finally asked, and Masaru shrugged.

"Part of it. But that was mostly trauma, I guess." Feeling full enough for the moment, he put down his chopsticks and got up. "Anyways, I should get going. Think about what I said."

Sasuke just grunted, eating his rice more slowly than before, and Masaru decided that was good enough. He carried his bowl to the sink and stored the leftover rice in a container for later before grabbing his stuff and heading out.

Walking to the Yamanaka flower shop took a bit longer than expected. Due to the ongoing rebuilding several streets had been temporarily closed from foot traffic while they cleared rubble or repaired damage, making the route a bit more complicated than usual. Beyond that Masaru also had to take several detours to avoid noisier construction sites, wincing whenever he got too close. He didn't mind the extended trip though, he wasn't in any particular rush.

True to his expectations, he walked into the shop to find Ino fussing over a large flower display to the side of the counter. She turned when the bell above the door tinkled and perked up instantly upon seeing him, her eyes lighting up. "Masaru-kun!" she greeted, spinning to face him with a giant smile. "Hi! I didn't expect to see you here!"

He internally winced as he shakily smiled back, his ears ringing from the high pitch her voice took. Not fangirl-squealing-level yet, but still higher than normal. "Hi, Ino," he greeted with a small nod, glancing at the flowers. As expected, he couldn't identify most of them. Flowers had never been his strong suit, he only knew the ones his mom had liked to paint. Hence why he came here. "Uh, can you help put together a bouquet for me? I don't know much about flowers."

"Oh? A bouquet?" Ino's eyes sparkled mischievously, a knowing smirk on her face. "What are you thinking then? Roses and gardenias?"

"Um, no?" Even he knew roses represented love and he assumed gardenias had a similar meaning, no point giving her any wrong impressions. Shaking his head, he shrugged and said, "It's... for a grave."

Instantly her smile faded, her expression growing more somber. "Oh... I see. Um, is it...?" She trailed off, looking hesitant to mention any names, and he decided to take pity on her.

"It's my uncle," he told her with a feeble smile. "He died during the war before I was born." She relaxed a bit at that, nodding.

"Right, I see." She turned and began walking around, her expression growing more serious and focused and her steps more confident as she looked at the colorful array of blossoms lining the shop. "We should go on the small side then, keep it nice and classy. Any particular colors you want to use?"

"I guess something warm?" he said with a shrug, eyes roving over the selection before settling on one particularly bright cluster of orange lilies. They stood out even among the other bright flowers, the petals warm with a glossy sheen that reminded him of fire. "Hey, what about this one?" Ino looked back at him and then physically blanched when she saw the flower he indicated.

"Oh, oh, kami, no," she said, quickly shaking her head. "Those mean hatred and revenge." Masaru blinked and then did a double-take at them.

"Wha—why do you guys even sell them then!?"

"I don't even know," she groaned, running a hand down her face. "All I know is that we somehow sell a lot of them." He just stared at her blankly, trying to figure out who would want to send a bouquet proclaiming one's hatred of a person. Then he realized that sort of subtle jab absolutely fit with a _lot_ of shinobi he knew.

" _Ninja,_ " he muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose, and Ino snorted.

"Pretty much. Anyways, hmm, maybe this, and this..." She started plucking flowers one by one, sticking to warmer colors as requested while muttering to herself about meanings. Masaru followed along silently, only able to catch small snippets—daffodils for respect, sweet peas to say goodbye—and at one point she glanced at him and asked, "Do you want to include red spider lilies?"

Masaru looked at the flower in question, with spindly blossoms of thin red petals and small red strands that formed a small crown around it. "No, I think we're good," he decided with a grimace. Red spider lilies represented death more than any other flower, it felt too grim for this bouquet.

"Right." Ino nodded and turned back to the flowers, grabbing another red blossom instead. She seemed satisfied with her selection and circled behind the counter, quickly getting to work in putting them together. Soon enough she turned to him with a smile, more gentle than the usual coy or teasing ones she sent his way, and extended the bouquet. "Here, it's a bit unconventional but I think this should work."

True to his request she'd stuck with only warm colors, the small bouquet comprised primarily of sunny yellow daffodils, bright reddish blossoms he identified as sweat peas from her mumbling, and a mixture of other orange and yellow flowers he didn't know. Mixed in on either end were two dark red blossoms, their deep crimson hue standing in sharp contrast to the otherwise gentle and softly colored arrangement.

"Camellias?" he asked as he took the bouquet, and Ino brightened.

"Oh, you know them?"

"I've seen them. What do they mean?"

"Those represent being in love," she told him slyly, which... dammit. His shoulders sagged as she giggled. "Sorry, couldn't resist. They _do_ mean that, but in this case I chose them because they also mean dying a noble death." Her face softened a bit, gaze flitting to the side as she shrugged. "It's an old samurai tradition for warriors who died in battle. We always keep a lot of them here, for obvious reasons."

Masaru's own expression took on a softer edge, nodding with a small smile as he gingerly took the bouquet. "I see... Thanks, Ino." He reached into his pocket to get the appropriate amount of ryo to pay, counting out the exact change.

"By the way," Ino said as she rang up the register, "Have you seen Hinata lately?" The question caught Masaru by surprise, his brow furrowing as he recalled the scene he'd briefly witnessed the previous day.

"I just got back from a mission yesterday," he responded carefully. "Why do you ask?" Ino frowned, concern glinting in her eyes as she glanced away.

"The other day I saw Team Eight while heading out to dinner, and Hinata just looked so... _bad_ ," she settled, her eyebrows knitting together. "I mean, it looked like she's barely been sleeping, and her pants looked bigger than what she usually wears. Yesterday I decided to go to the Hyuuga household to check on her, but... the guards told me she hasn't been there since the invasion."

"Oh," Masaru muttered, frowning at this new information. Clan children usually didn't avoid their homes, _especially_ not clan heirs. Looking back, yesterday Hinata had been wearing her normal coat, but her pants had been taped around her shins when before they'd been almost capri-length. Frowning, he hesitated briefly before saying, "Sorry, I haven't really seen her around since the invasion, or... before that, really. She kinda ran off before her match, a bunch of us were trying to find her when the invasion started."

"That's what Shikamaru said," Ino agreed gloomily, and sighed. "I don't know the full story, but I'm guessing her family isn't too happy about that. Clans put a lot of pressure on us heiresses, and I know the Hyuuga clan is _especially_ stodgy."

"They are," Masaru confirmed grimly, mouth forming an unhappy line as he remembered Akari's anger after the Hyuuga elders forced Hinata to end their friendship.

"I'm getting worried about her," Ino confided with a deep frown. "About an hour ago her mean jerk of a cousin came looking for her."

"Neji?" Masaru asked in surprise, and the blonde nodded her head in sullen confirmation. Neji looking for Hinata couldn't be good. Masaru didn't know the full story either, but he'd heard enough from Naruto and Sasuke to know he'd been the catalyst for her running away.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm getting a really bad feeling about all this. Hinata's really sweet and gentle, and people like her..." Ino trailed off with a grimace, unwilling to finish the thought, while Masaru's eyes narrowed.

"They don't break under pressure," he muttered. "They _shatter_." His words seemed to jolt the blonde, snapping a wide-eyed look his way before slowly nodding.

"Just—keep an eye out for her, I guess."

"I will," he promised with a nod, and then paused, looking at the bouquet. "...Actually, I don't think I'll have time to visit the cemetery today after all."

"You won't?" Ino looked at him in surprise, and she quickly jumped to the most natural conclusion. "Are you going to search for Hinata, then?"

"In a bit," he confirmed with a small nod. "I need to go home and take care of something first." He held out the bouquet for her, adding, "I won't really need this anymore, but I don't think it'd be right to ask for a refund after you already put it together. So..."

"I'll just give it to another customer," Ino offered as she took it, a wry, rueful smile touching her lips. "Almost everyone has someone they could give this bouquet to." Her voice took on a slightly more bitter note than he was used to, her blue eyes seeming to dull for a brief moment. Before he could think on it too much her face regained its normal easy smile, turning to tuck the bouquet in a vase behind the counter. "Don't be a stranger, come by anytime! Okay, Masaru?"

He smiled faintly, dipping his head. "I'll have to come by sometime for another bouquet anyway."

"Not what I meant, but good enough!" Ino smirked, leaning over the counter with a smug twinkle in her eye. "I mean it. Come by _any_ time."

Masaru froze like a deer caught in headlights, his smile strained and tight on his face as he internally screamed. "I am sorry, I need to go now," he said mechanically with a small bow, and then quickly fled while Ino laughed behind him. Nope. Not dealing with that.

He didn't stop running until he reached the apartment, at which point he slammed the door and slumped against it with a groan. "Fangirls," he muttered under his breath, and then straightened and walked inside. Sasuke had left in the short time he'd been gone, probably off to a training field. He'd at least put the dishes in the sink though, so that was nice.

Masaru headed straight to his room, and wasn't too surprised to find Masahige lounging on his bed. "I'm not even gonna bother asking how you got in," he declared flatly as he walked to his desk.

"Good. I won't tell you anyway." Masaru just hummed quietly, pulling out a few sheets of paper and a pen. Finding Hinata could wait a bit, first he needed to finish this.

* * *

Some people would find one thirty to be a bit late to get lunch. Uzumaki Naruto, however, thought that any time was a good time to get ramen, especially at Ramen Ichiraku—no matter what _some_ people might say.

"And then they had the nerve to say I eat too much ramen!" the blond huffed, slurping up a bowl of ramen and pausing only long enough to continue his rant. "I mean, seriously? How can they not appreciate the glory that is ramen!?"

Teuchi laughed as Naruto slammed down the empty bowl, the chef already placing a new one in front of him. "Well, I'm glad to know I'll always your loyalty," he chuckled, and Naruto beamed at him.

"Of course! Nothing is better than Ramen Ichiraku!" he proclaimed with a grin. Admittedly, he _might_ be biased because Ichiraku's was one of the only places to serve him as a kid (and they sometimes even gave him ramen for _free_!), but still! Ichiraku's was _amazing_! Huffing, Naruto pulled the new bowl closer and began chowing down, irritably proclaiming, "I don't care what Konohamaru and Masaru say! They're wrong, ramen is totally fine for every meal!"

The old man behind the counter laughed lightly, his eyes crinkling with warmth. "Well, I don't know Naruto-kun. They do have a point."

Naruto choked on his noodles and nearly fell off his stool in shock, slamming a hand on the counter and pointing at Teuchi in disbelief. "WHAT! EVEN _YOU'RE_ AGREEING WITH THEM!?"

"I might love your business, but I also know growing kids need variety," the chef replied, smiling at him. "Ramen can't give you _all_ the nutrients you need." Naruto just stared at him in shock, and after a long moment he slumped in his seat with a loud groan.

"Traitors, all of you," he grumbled under his breath, crossing his arms.

Teuchi just laughed, his attention turning away as someone else ducked under the awning. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen! How may I help you today, pretty lady?"

"U-um," a familiar voice said hesitantly.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, whirring to face the newcomer while wildly pointing at her. The blue-haired girl looked startled at the sudden attention, almost flinching as her white eyes widened in surprise. "You're on my side, right? Tell Old Man Teuchi that there's nothing wrong with me eating ramen!"

Hinata blinked a couple times, her face turning a bit red, but she smiled anyway and gave a tiny nod. "I-I, I think it's okay," she agreed quietly. "I mean, N-Naruto-kun is already really strong, and, it makes him happy..."

"Hah! See!" He turned a smug look on Teuchi, and then beamed at Hinata. "Thanks Hinata-chan! You're the only one I can trust!"

Hinata's face turned even more red, and she looked ready to sway before blinking and rapidly shaking her head. "Um, c-can I sit down?" she asked, looking away and poking her fingers. Naruto grinned as he bobbed his head.

"Yeah, sure! Go right ahead!" The girl smiled weakly as she slipped into the seat next to him, her face still red. He wondered if he should be worried about that, but after a moment dismissed the thought.

"Um, c-can I have shoyu ramen, please?" she asked Teuchi, and the man grinned at her.

"One order of shoyu, coming up!" he declared, and turned around to get to work. Naruto nodded in approval at her choice and turned to his old classmate, figuring it'd probably be rude to ignore her while eating his ramen. Hey, he had _some_ manners.

"So Hinata-chan, how've you been?" he asked. "I haven't seen you since the Chuunin Exams. Did everything turn out okay? Do I need to talk to that Neji-bastard for you?" His face twisted into a scowl as he recalled the uppity-Hyuuga's cold words towards Hinata during the preliminaries, and then how nervous she'd acted around him during the tournament. He hadn't heard what the bastard actually _said_ to her, but he was absolutely certain he was responsible for Hinata running off before their match.

Hinata seemed to shrink at the mention, hunching over and biting her lip before shaking her head. "N-no, it's—i-it's fine," she told him quietly. "Y-you don't need to do anything."

"Are you sure?" Naruto pressed with a frown. "Just say the word and I'll show him not to mess with you! I think that guy needs to be knocked down a peg or two anyway!" He could see her lips quirk into a tiny smile even as her face turned a bit redder, which—huh. That was possible? Maybe he _should_ be concerned.

"It's fine," she repeated softly. Then her smile wavered for a second, a flicker of intense concentration flashing across her face briefly before she raised her head to look at him. "N-Naruto-kun. C-could we, m-maybe, spend today together?"

* * *

Ino sighed as she rearranged the rolls of wrapping paper behind the counter, the bouquet Masaru had paid for and left still sitting in the vase behind her. Three customers had come since Masaru visited and all had neglected the free offering, citing they had no time for a grave visit. One woman had to go to the hospital to see a friend, another had just visited a grave two days prior, and the third had been in such a rush to get flowers for his forgotten anniversary that she didn't even bother offering.

Honestly, she felt proud of the small arrangement. Normally people would request white chrysanthemums and red spider lilies for graves, and maybe their loved ones' favorite flowers. Grave bouquets gave her a sad and morose feeling, but this one felt much more lively and warm than most. If no one would take it, maybe she'd use it herself. The invasion memorial could always use more flowers.

The thought gave her pause, her lips pulling into a tight frown as she squeezed her eyes shut. Even thinking about the invasion and the things she'd seen— _Glazed eyes staring at her with no light, still-warm blood seeping along the concrete towards her fingers—_

The bell on the door rang and Ino immediately spun around with a large smile plastered on her face, eagerly jumping on the distraction from her memories. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower shop!" she declared loudly. "How may I—" She stopped short as she recognized the newcomer—or rather, the newcomer's eyes, solid white with no pupil. The Hyuuga girl herself was unfamiliar, a small child with long brown hair and nice-looking clothes.

Instantly Ino felt her demeanor change, her smile fading. "If you're looking for Hinata, she's not here," she informed the girl frostily. Ino had no idea what was going on in the Hyuuga household, but she knew that it couldn't be good if Hinata had been avoiding it for the past four weeks. The fact _Neji_ had come looking for her that morning spoke plenty of the severity of the situation, and while they may not be good friends, Ino would rather not have any role in handing over the poor girl to her clan.

The newcomer remained unfazed by her cool greeting though, just zeroed in on her with an expression equal parts determination and distress. "You're from nee-chan's class, aren't you?" she asked breathlessly, and Ino paused, looking at her in surprise. Nee-chan? Was this girl Hinata's sister? Looking back, she could now faintly recall seeing this girl sitting with Hinata's father during the tournament—

 _Don't!_ she scolded herself before she could fall into another flashback. "I was," she responded carefully, no longer as cold but still on guard. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't care where she is, can you at least tell me she's okay?" the girl begged. She looked frantic, her eyes large with panic and worry. "The clan elders—they're up to something!"

* * *

 **Thanks to all the reviewers as usual: Elise142 (Well Kakashi knows the truth, so he has incentive to stop Sasuke and Masaru from seeking revenge), xXSpades231Xx (Congratulations on graduating! I'll PM the question answers to you later.), Guest (you have some VERY good speculations, I'll neither confirm nor deny), May525, PhAnToM 1212, and reebajee.**

 **See you all next week!**


	58. Chapter 55: Love Lasts Forever

Chapter 55

* * *

"They say love lasts forever, but is it really true?"

* * *

"And then Haku said, 'I'm actually a boy,' and I swear even the teme was shocked!" Naruto finished with a loud laugh. "Man, you should've seen everyone's faces!" Hinata smiled as she listened, nodding contentedly.

"That sounds very f-fun," she agreed lightly. Naruto had spent the past hour recounting his team's adventures in Wave, though his retelling had been a bit... messy. A good chunk of the mission had been deemed classified, so he'd been forced to stop himself short numerous times before revealing critical information. It had been a bit confusing at times and she hadn't been able to follow all of it, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, and that was all that mattered to her.

"Anyways, after that he agreed to help teach Sakura-chan about poisons," the blond continued. "And now I guess they still exchange letters sometimes? I dunno, but he gave her a book on it. Man, those made the second phase _easy_. Too bad Temari turned them against her, she _totally_ would've made chuunin! Well, she said she spent the month working in the hospital instead though, so I guess it worked out?" He shrugged, and then perked up. "Oh, hey, I can see the top! Alright!"

With that Naruto broke into a sprint, dashing up the last set of stone steps. He paused near the top and twisted his torso to face her, waving eagerly with a giant grin. "C'mon, Hinata-chan, we're almost there!"

"I—I'm coming, j-just a second!" Hinata called, pausing to press her hands against her knees as she caught her breath. The fact she had run out of breath so easily made her cheeks flush with embarrassment, acutely aware of how she'd faltered in her training regiment since Kurenai-sensei got busy after the invasion—

 _No,_ she told herself, hands clenching into fists as she straightened. _I'm not thinking about that now._ She stood tall as she resumed mounting the seemingly endless steps, ignoring the throbbing soreness in her legs. Ahead of her Naruto grinned and darted ahead now that he'd been assured she was following him, and she had to smile even as her legs protested climbing.

Naruto grinned as she finally reached his side, beaming that beautiful sunshine smile while she breathed a large breath of relief. "We're finally here!" Pausing, he then turned and asked, "So, uh, why are we here?" They stood underneath a large stone _torii_ facing a traditional Shinto shrine, a smaller one set in the back of a stone plaza made of unpainted wood and a blue tiled roof. Thickly wooded forests bordered the space on every side, thick ropes with paper tags tied around the trunks.

Hinata smiled as she took in the scene, walking to a purification fountain near the entrance and picking up the ladle lying next to it. "This shrine was built by the family of a man who died saving Kurenai-sensei's father," she explained, her tone soft and reverent as she dipped it into the water to pour it over her hands. "The rest of his family moved away, s-so she started coming to clean it instead, and had us help, too. I-I come up here, s-sometimes, when I want to be alone."

"Oh," Naruto said quietly, sounding a bit more subdued, and she smiled faintly as she dipped the ladle back into the water and held it to him. He looked a bit startled, but after a second he hesitantly took it and poured it over his own hands, his face screwing up in intense concentration. The sight made her giggle, too soft for him to hear, and she turned to regard the shrine fondly.

She had spent countless hours here alone since graduating, just enjoying the peace and solitude the shrine provided. Part of her suspected Kurenai had introduced the shrine to them for that very reason, remembering the way the red-eyed woman had looked at her in particular while telling them they could visit whenever they wished. She felt grateful to her teacher for that, unable to express how much it meant to have a place safe from her clan's all-seeing eyes.

While Naruto washed his hands she turned to walk deeper into the shrine, lingering in front of a statue of a stone dog. Komainu statues had an almost monstrous look to them, this one sporting a face with a flat snout and a stern-looking frown. She heard the clatter of the ladle being dropped and Naruto's footsteps walking up behind her. "Yeesh, why do shrines always have these scary-looking statues?" he muttered as he looked up at the dog.

"I-I think it's to protect it?" Hinata suggested, but she didn't know for sure. As a small child she'd never really asked her parents about it, in part because she'd been awestruck by them. Surprisingly, she found them more fascinating than scary, and could remember shyly asking her mom if they could get a stuffed animal version to cuddle at night.

She _also_ remembered a two-year-old Hanabi trying to climb onto one's back, much to her father's horror and embarrassment.

She smiled as she pushed the fond memory away for another time, turning back to the shrine itself. A wooden box sat in front of the sealed doors, the front decorated with a butterfly emblem she assumed belonged to the family of the man Kurenai-sensei mentioned. Wide-spaced wooden slats had been carved into the lid, allowing space for visitors to drop in donations. Fumbling in her pockets, she pulled out a few coins and dropped them inside, clasping her hands in prayer with her head bowed.

 _Please give me the courage I need,_ she pleaded quietly to any listening spirits.

When she opened her eyes and turned around she found Naruto standing awkwardly a few feet behind her, looking a bit uncomfortable and unsure of himself as he glanced around the shrine. "Um, this place is really, really nice," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck. "I-I mean, it's not really my thing, but... It seems really peaceful?"

"It is," Hinata agreed quietly, averting her gaze. "I-I'm sorry for bringing you here, I know you p-probably don't like this kind of p-place—"

"N-no, no, not that!" Naruto cut in, shaking his head emphatically. "I-I mean, uh, yeah, normally I wouldn't go to places like this—actually, I uh, don't think I've ever been to a shrine before, like, _ever_ —but that doesn't mean it's boring or anything—ack!" he yelped, face morphing into panic as he realized how that could be taken. "Sorry, it's seriously _not_ boring! It's really nice and pretty and not bad and—"

"Naruto-kun, it's okay," Hinata interrupted, smiling despite herself. Her eyes twinkled with amusement, a small giggle bubbling inside herself at the way her crush awkwardly fumbled with his words. "I-I understand that not everyone likes these kinds of p-places. T-thank you for coming with me anyway."

He relaxed a bit at that, scratching his neck with a sheepish smile. "'S'no problem, really," he deflected with a soft laugh. "You paid for my lunch, so it's the least I could do." Her cheeks flared up a little at the reminder of eating lunch at Ichiraku. She'd nearly passed out when he started peppering her with questions about if she was okay and what happened during the exams, his blue eyes shining with genuine concern for _her_.

She had managed to squeak out she was fine and then deflected his attention by asking about his own training in preparation for the exam, leading to him spending nearly an hour excitedly telling her all about his training under Jiraiya and everything he'd been doing since the invasion. She'd spent that hour listening in content silence while eating her ramen at a sedate pace, her stomach fluttering too much to eat as fast as her crush as she tried to ignore the fact that _she was eating lunch with Naruto, this was almost a date_.

And now... Now they'd spent nearly three hours just walking around the edges of Konoha letting him tell story after story, and then she'd dragged him to the shrine, her special place. Her face reddened even _more_ at the thought, because this really _did_ feel like a date. And... maybe it was? She did ask to spend the day with him, and—

"Naruto-kun," she forced out before her vision could start to spin. "W-where do you want to go n-next?"

"Next?" Naruto looked at her blankly. "Whaddaya mean, where do we go next?" Hinata swallowed, poking her fingers together nervously as she smiled shyly.

"I-I asked to, to spend the d-day with you," she told him, unable to look at him as she spoke. "A-and, w-we still have some t-time..." She trailed off, too embarrassed to finish the thought.

"Wait, you actually meant that?" Naruto blurted, and Hinata instantly winced, her shoulders rising as she stepped back with an almost ashen look on her face.

"Oh, I-I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to i-impose—y-you d-don't have to, i-if you don't w-want to—"

"No, it's not that!" Naruto interrupted quickly, waving his hands. "It's just—just... people don't usually like to spend time around me." His face fell as he spoke, his eyes growing distant as his mouth pulled into a bitter-looking frown.

Her heart clenched a bit at the sad expression he wore, her anxiety fading as she mimicked it with a small frown of her own. "N-Naruto-kun..."

He jolted at her voice as if startled out of a reverie, and quickly brightened and flashed her a weak grin. "Sorry, I guess I'm not used to people actually wanting to hang out with me," he said with a shrug. "But, if you _really_ mean it, then... Okay, sure! So I can choose the next place, right?"

"Yes," Hinata agreed with a nod and smile. "Anywhere you want."

"Alright then," Naruto agreed, nodding seriously. He crossed his arms and pursed his lips, face screwing in concentration once more as he hummed in heavy thought. "Well, we already had lunch at Ichiraku, so I guess that's out. And there's not much point in going to training grounds, unless you want to?" He looked at her inquisitively, and she frowned as she shook her head.

"S-sorry, but maybe not today?" she replied feebly. "I... I don't want to think about training." Naruto paused at that, his brow furrowing in worry.

"Hinata-chan, is everything really okay?" he pressed. "You've been acting kinda weird today... Did something happen?"

Hinata's blood chilled at the question, Elder Fumito's stern glare shooting to the forefront of her mind. She had to keep her face carefully composed as she swallowed, a sense of numbness spreading over as she pushed the image away. "Nothing happened today," she said quietly. "You don't need to do anything. B-but, thank you for worrying about me."

She smiled at him, as reassuring as she could. And Naruto, for all his beautiful sunshine and light, couldn't see the shadows shrouding her heart beneath it.

His expression softened, breaking into that bright, bright grin she so loved and craved. "Okay, if you say so! So anyways, so we can go anywhere I want, right?"

"Right," she agreed, nodding once.

"Well, in that case, this place seems really special to you, so the fact you went out of your way to show me means a lot," he thought aloud, and then nodded to himself. "Alright, then I'll show you _my_ favorite place!"

He flashed her a radiant smile, a ray of sunshine directed purely at _her_ , and at that point Hinata felt the world turn black as she fell.

"Ack! Hinata-chan? Hinata!"

* * *

If ever asked for his opinion on Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto would honestly say he thought she was kind of weird.

Don't get him wrong, Hinata seemed nice enough. She didn't squeal over Sasuke-teme like all the other girls at school (even Ino used to squeal over him before setting her sights on Masaru a few years in), and she also didn't yell at him or get annoyed with him. Actually, she didn't really talk to him, period. She always got kinda red and tended to pass out a lot.

Like just now.

"You're _sure_ you don't need to go to the doctor?" Naruto asked worriedly as they climbed up a new set of stairs. "You passed out really suddenly back there!"

"I-I'm fine," Hinata assured him, her face bright red. He squinted at her suspiciously, not sure if he believed her. They'd spent half an hour at the shrine after she woke up, just to make sure she wouldn't pass out again, and had taken their time walking through town. He had some serious reservations about that. Like, when he offered to carry her down all those stairs and straight to a doctor she'd turned even redder and squeaked out no.

In fact, just now she did it again, her face lighting up as her body suddenly convulsed with another muffled squeak. "Are you _really_ sure?" he muttered, and she quickly bobbed her head, ducking it downward so it got partially buried in her jacket's hood.

"I-it's n-nothing!" she said quickly, not looking at him. "J-just, um, a b-bit excited, I g-guess?" Excited? When Naruto got excited he'd usually be shouting and jumping around, not squeaking and passing out. But then again, no one else on Team Seven acted like him when _they_ got excited. Sakura usually did those fan-girl screams, Sasuke just got really smug and uppity, and Kakashi-sensei did that sort of creepy perverted giggle. So maybe it was just different for everyone?

Besides, no one else seemed to think too much about Hinata passing out. Sometimes back in the academy he'd get worried she might be really sick and that shinobi life would be too hard for her, but whenever he talked to someone about it they always said she was fine with this weird smile on their faces.

So, alright, maybe she was fine then. Mostly. Probably.

...Okay, so he still had some ( _many_ ) doubts, but he didn't really have anything else to go on. "Alright, I guess," he muttered, and tried to look on the brighter side as he glanced up to the darkening sky. They had a near-unobstructed view of it from their vantage point on the stairs, allowing him to see the tinge of pink starting to appear in the distance. "Actually, I guess this works out even better."

"It d-does?" Hinata looked at him in surprise and he grinned at her, folding his arms behind his head.

"Yeah! Now we'll be able to get there just in time for sunset! Wait until you see it, you'll love it!" Hinata came to an abrupt halt behind him, her hand gripping the guard rail tightly.

"S-s-sunset?" she whispered, her eyes wide and unseeing. Blinking, she shook her head and looked at him, taking a deep breath. "I, u-um... S-sorry, it's just, t-the day's flown by, a-and..." She trailed off and Naruto frowned.

"Do you have to get home before dark or something?" he asked. He knew the Hyuuga clan was really stiff and stuffy so a sunset curfew didn't seem too unlikely, but Hinata just shook her head.

"It's... it's fine," she said slowly, and smiled at him. "A-and, we're almost there, anyway, r-right?"

"Yeah, we are," he confirmed with a nod, and grinned as he turned forward to point. "See? Less than a minute of walking and then we'll be at the top! I promise, you'll love it!"

"I—r-right, I'm sure I will." He could _hear_ the smile in her voice, soft and gentle and full of confidence, and it filled him with a burst of energy that prompted him to speed up. He skipped up the last stretch of stairs two steps at a time, and then leaped onto the landing and spun to wave at her. Hinata smiled up at him, trailing at a more sedate pace, and once she reached the top he grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, let's go!" he laughed, dragging her along. He felt her startle but she didn't try to jerk away, instead rushing to keep up with him, and he felt his grin grow as they ran down the path towards a fence. He let go of her wrist to hop over it, landing on solid rock, and turned to her while gesturing to join him. "Here, just climb on over! You know how to walk on trees, right? If you get scared you might slip, you can just do that!"

"Right!" Hinata nodded, pulling herself over the fence with a look of determination. He turned and led the way down the lumpy stone face, carefully climbing over various outcroppings while occasionally glancing back to make sure his companion didn't fall behind. Hinata seemed a bit more careful and cautious than him, chakra lighting up around her feet as she walked down one particularly rough stone outcropping, but he decided to let her do it at her own pace.

Soon enough he climbed to the end of a large spike jutting outwards and sat down so his legs dangled off the edge, patting a spot next to him. "Here, there's plenty of room! Best seat in the house, believe it!"

She nodded as she joined him, but as she got closer she froze in place, her eyes widening as she took in the scene before them. Spread before them was the entirety of Konoha, the buildings and people looking strangely tiny.

"Come on," he said, softer than before as he gazed over his home. "Sit down. The best part's about to begin." Hinata stood still for a moment, but then she slowly walked forward, lowering herself on the edge of the spike and swinging her legs over the edge.

Slowly, as the sun set in the distance, the air began to gradually shift color, taking on first a pink and then a golden tint that blanketed the village in a warm glow. Lights began flickering on in the various houses and buildings, a scattering of glowing spots flaring to life all across the village at random. People still continued to move about the streets, reconstruction an ever-ongoing process that didn't stop with nightfall. Naruto could hear Hinata's intake of breath at the change, but he didn't bother looking to see her face, too riveted by the view to look away.

Here, from the top of the Fourth Hokage's head, the village looked truly alive.

Just as Hinata had spent countless hours in her shrine, Naruto had spent countless evenings watching the village from the top of the Hokage Rock. He didn't remember when he first started coming here, but he'd fallen in love with the view the second he saw it. He loved watching the way Konoha changed throughout the day, safe from the cold gazes and harsh whispers that had always followed him. As the night wore on more lights would flicker on in the nocturnal red light district and the walls surrounding the village would begin to light up with patrols, but that wouldn't be for some time yet.

"It's beautiful," Hinata breathed next to him, and he hummed, just smiling as he nodded.

"Yeah. It is."

Sitting here looking over the only village he'd ever known, Konoha felt like home more than any other time.

* * *

They stayed there for an hour, just enjoying the sunset in silence. Twilight didn't claim Konoha all at once, it took its time. The shadows began to stretch long and narrow as the sun vanished, the village glowing brighter and brighter as more buildings succumbed to the darkness and turned on the lights. They didn't bother talking in that time, didn't really do anything, just sat there and watched.

Eventually, though, the sight lost its allure. Even the most beautiful views became boring after a while, and eventually Hinata pulled her legs up and stood up, prompting Naruto to clamber to his feet to follow her. "Thank you," she said softly, and he smiled at her, bobbing his head as they started heading back up the Fourth Hokage's hair.

"No problem! You showed me your special place, so it's only fair I showed you mine!" She smiled back at him, nodding once.

"R-right. Then... C-could you follow me, one last time?"

"Sure," he agreed easily. "I don't really have anywhere else to be." Hinata smiled, and with that they climbed over the fence and went back down the steps.

Descending stairs took much less energy and strain than climbing them, a relief after climbing two long sets of stairs already that day. Hinata took lead once again, weaving through largely deserted streets on the fringes of Konoha while Naruto contently followed behind. "Y'know, this was really fun today," he commented as they walked along. "I don't really get to hang out with any of our other classmates outside training and stuff."

"Me neither," Hinata agreed quietly.

"We should do this again sometime, with others, too!" Hinata paused at that, a small smile touching her lips as she ducked her head.

"Y-yes, we... we should." She resumed walking with Naruto close behind, the blond unsure of their destination but not really caring. He felt perfectly content right now, he couldn't bring himself to mind whatever Hinata had in store next. As they walked she spoke up again. "I'm glad you agreed to spend t-today with me... I—I've wanted to d-do that for a while."

"You have?" He looked at her in genuine surprise and she nodded, head ducking further as she kept walking.

"I... When we were kids, I thought you were amazing. I remember, y-you'd always fail and get in t-trouble, but..." She trailed off, her cheeks dusting pink as she smiled faintly. "You never gave up. No matter what people said to you, no matter how mean they got or how many times they called you a failure, you'd always get right back up. And I thought—I thought you were so... so _amazing_."

"You... you did?" Naruto just stared at her in shock, his eyes widening as she spoke—so gentle, so kind, so full of respect and admiration. People _never_ spoke to him like that, never spoke _about_ him like that—they always looked at him with scorn or disappointment, especially back in those early days. But Hinata just nodded again, her cheeks glowing as her fingers drifted to the braided bracelet around her wrist.

"I—I admired you," she confessed. "You always seemed so strong. I wanted to go up to you, ask how you did it. S-sometimes, when I felt really tired or really scared, I'd think to myself, 'What would Naruto do?' Y-you—" She stopped short, taking in a deep breath. "You were my _goal_ , Naruto. I wanted to be like you."

"Hinata," he whispered, feeling a growing warmth in his chest—

—only for it to freeze with her next words.

"I know you lost your apartment."

He started at the admission, the breath knocked out of him in one full swoop as his face contorted in shock. "What?" he whispered, and only then did he notice where they were. The familiar street he'd grown up calling "home," standing before the empty gap between two buildings where his apartment building once stood.

"After the invasion, I saw your apartment building," Hinata said quietly. Her shoulders shook as she spoke, her head held low and her back still to him. "I c-couldn't breathe when I saw it. All I c-could think was, 'Where will he g-go? What will he d-d- _do_?'" Her voice cracked, her shoulders sharply rising for a brief moment before trembling once more, while Naruto just stared at her in silent disbelief, his stomach twisting.

He hadn't told anyone about going home only to find a pile of rubble, not even Sakura or Sasuke or Masaru— _especially_ not Sakura or Sasuke or Masaru. Not when he could remember that haunted look in Sakura's eyes as she stood outside her father's hospital room after the nurses dragged him back into his bed to sleep off the painkillers. Not when he could still see that horrified and confusion in Sasuke's face as they lay in the grass after facing down Gaara and asking if he might have been _right_. Not when he could still hear Masaru screaming as a white dragon erupted from his mouth and a seal glowed bright on the back of his neck.

All of them were suffering so much after the invasion. They'd all lost something that day, and compared to those three, Naruto felt like his losses didn't even matter. He couldn't burden anyone with it, not when they had so much to deal with on their own.

"I was s-so scared," Hinata continued, her voice shaking just as hard as her shoulders. "B-but then, the next day, I—I s-saw you. W-walking with the Hokage's g-grandson to his house, w-with all those b-bags... A-and, and you l-l-looked so s-s- _scared_ , so w-worried and unc-certain, b-b-but—you were _smiling_. You were _smiling_ , Naruto, s-so b-b-bright and happy and s- _strong_ , a-and I—I—"

She stopped short with a loud hiccup, raising her sleeve to wipe at her face. Naruto just stood in silent disbelief, remembering _exactly_ what she was talking about. The impromptu shopping trip with Konohamaru's mom two days after the invasion, to stock on new clothes and toiletries and other necessities after losing all his stuff to the pile of rubble. She'd known even _then_?

"H-Hinata," he breathed, forgetting the honorific in his shock. "You..." He trailed off, not knowing what to even say to this, but she just shook her head.

"You were so _strong_ ," she whispered, her tremors stilling. "S-so very strong. And I'm... I'm j-just weak."

At long last she turned to face him, her solid white eyes glistening like pearls with unshed tears and her face almost ashen despite the redness rimming her nose.

"I-I'm not st-strong like you!" she sobbed, her hands balling into fists as the tears began flowing freely. "I-I-I'm t-t-terrified of my own f-f-family a-and I c-can't even th-think of g-going b-back, I-I haven't been b-back since the i-invasion! Th-they're all s-so m-mad and s-s-scary a-and angry a-at me! B-but now I c-c-can't stay away a-anymore, a-and I know th-they'll b-b-b- _brand_ me f-for being a _failure_!"

Her voice rose into a shrill shriek, a loud gasp rattling her frame before she wrapped her arms around herself, sobbing loudly and openly. "I'm scared, Naruto! I c-can't do it! I c-c-can't—I n-never asked to b-be b-born into the M-M-Main House, I d-didn't ask to b-be born f-first, I—I c-can't take it anymore!"

As she sobbed and hiccupped Naruto just stared at her in horror, his chest twisting painfully with an unexpected agony. He didn't understand half of what she was talking about, but in the end it didn't matter. Right now, Naruto saw a friend crying her heart out and terrified for her life, and that was all he needed to know.

His fists clenched at his sides and his face hardened, crossing the gap between them and placing his hands on her shoulders. Hinata snapped her head up with a gasp, her eyes large and shiny as she stared at him, and he made himself meet her teary gaze with a firm and determined look.

"I don't know what's going on, but that doesn't matter," he declared firmly. "I don't care what I have to do, I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you." His fingers tightened unconsciously, his eyes gleaming with hard determination. "You're not alone, you'll never _be_ alone! I'll always be by your side!"

Her eyes widened, her breath fleeing from her chest. Blinking slowly, after a long moment she ducked her head so her bangs fell into her eyes, her lips quirking into a tiny smile even as a new glistening trail of water streamed down her cheeks. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun," she said softly. "Y-you really are s-sunshine..." She trailed off, her smile fading.

"B-but, it's too late."

 _Pain._

Sharp, numbing pain, rippling across his chest. Naruto's eyes widened as his grip went slack, his head slowly tilting downwards to see Hinata's palm jabbing in his chest. "Wh...what...?" he whispered, struggling to process the sight, but even as he spoke he could feel darkness creep into the edges of his vision. Hinata's palm pulled back and he lifted his gaze to her face, finding her staring at him tearily even as veins bulged around her eyes and her expression remained tight with concentration.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," she whispered, and her lips quirked into a tiny, heartbroken smile. "I love you. Goodbye."

Then her hand surged forward again, and everything went black.

* * *

 **So people have been asking about the "Sasuke Retrieval Arc"...  
**

 **If canon wasn't 100% screwed over already, it is now.**

 **Thanks as always to my reviewers: Beyogi, Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf (yep), Elise142, goofboy96 (yes, eventually, yes, maybe), xXSpades231Xx, KaeBear, Guest (I have to say, that is the most ironic comment I've seen in a while since last chapter had constant foreshadowing), Guest, reebajee, XWingedWolfX (secret, secret, mayhaps, and Ryoko would murder Danzou before letting him get his hands on Akari so no), and Anon12345.**

 **Next time:**

 **"She—she _left_! Sh-she was crying and knocked me out—"**

 **"** **She ran away?"**

 **"** **I didn't want to get involved because I figured it was clan stuff. If I knew it would turn out like this... "**


	59. Chapter 56: All So Confusing

Chapter 56

* * *

 _"People always say they want to know the future so they can live without fear of the unknown. But in the end, the present can be just as confusing."_

* * *

It was official.

Writing letters was _hard_.

Masaru silently sulked as he jumped across the rooftops, staring sourly at the envelope clutched in his hand. Theoretically, letters should be an _easier_ way to communicate than talking. If he made a mistake he could just erase it or start over, and the other person would never know. But no. The blank page presented endless opportunities, an entire canvas he could fill with any thoughts he so desired. Too _much_ possibility. Where did he even _begin_ with writing this?

He sighed as he landed on one roof and tilted his head back, staring at the swiftly-darkening sky. Sunset had already come and passed, night having set in for the most part with only a few rays of daylight lingering in the horizon. "Hopefully I'm not too late," he mumbled to himself as he turned his gaze forward to continue onwards. As he leaped to another rooftop movement caught his attention below, and he glanced down to spy a blur of blue and beige rushing along the empty street. It wasn't until he had crossed a couple of other rooftops that something clicked in his mind, prompting him to land and turn to glance after the figure, his eyebrows drawing together.

 _Was that Hinata?_

Frowning, he glanced down at the envelope in his hands with a small twist of hesitation in his stomach, only to freeze as he spied a familiar shade of eye-searing orange in the empty street below him. His grip on the envelope went slack, the paper slipping from his fingers and fluttering to the tiled rooftop as his mind went blank, his lips parting to form one word:

" _Naruto?_ "

* * *

Naruto floated in a thin layer of water, staring into the black void above with sightless eyes. Somewhere nearby a loud rumble shook the waters, hot breath dusting over his face and body.

" ** _Pathetic,_** " the Kyuubi huffed, voice full of scorn and derision. " ** _Knocked out by a girl who was crying, not even getting a chance to put up a fight. This is a new low, brat, even for you._** "

For once Naruto didn't rise up to the taunt, didn't even look at the damned fox. He just kept staring upwards at the void, Hinata's teary-eyed face etched into his memory.

" _I'm sorry, Naruto. I love you. Goodbye._ "

I'm sorry.

I love you.

 _Goodbye._

Never had such simple words filled him with such unimaginable pain and grief.

' _I'm sorry,_ ' she started. People never apologized to him, not so sincerely at least. People only apologized when they did something wrong, and they usually just blamed him even when it was their own faults.

' _I love you,_ ' she said next. _I love you. I love you. I love you._ He'd never heard those words in that exact order, directed at him and him alone. No one ever wrapped him in warm embraces and declared their love for him. Not Jiijii, not Iruka-sensei, not Teuchi or Ayame or Sakura or Masaru or Sasuke— _no one_ ever said that, not to him. And now, after nearly thirteen long years of being alone, someone finally _had_.

But then—

' _Goodbye._ '

Is she going somewhere?

' _...aru..._ '

Where was she going?

' _...aruto..._ '

Why was she leaving?

" _Naruto!_ "

A face flickered into his vision, hovering above him with dark eyes full of worry. He stared blearily at the hazy image, only able to make out a scant few features, but even so he felt a flicker of recognition, his lips parting in a breathless whisper.

"Ma...sa...ru?"

His eyelids fell shut and when he opened them again he saw only the endless black void, stretching far beyond what the limits of his vision.

* * *

When Hatake Kakashi returned from his mission in the middle of the night, he expected to drop off a report with the night shift clerks at the administration building and go straight home to procrastinate on writing the full report.

He didn't expect the Hokage to be waiting for him in his office, face grim and tight with his pipe no where in sight.

They wasted no time. A body flicker had him at the hospital's entrance, Kakashi for once darting inside the doors instead of fleeing. Medical ninja dodged out of the way as the silver-haired jounin slid down the dim hall, his exposed eye wide and the normally-dormant Sharingan swirling to life beneath his hitai-ate. Masaru sat in a chair outside one of the rooms, lifting his head to look at him as he arrived.

"Kakashi?" he greeted dully, head tilting to the side slightly. His eyes looked tired, almost lifeless in the darkness of the halls. Kakashi panted heavily as he strode over, staring at the door.

"He's in there?" he questioned, and Masaru nodded.

"The doctors say he's fine," the boy intoned hollowly. "He just needs sleep." He didn't sound particularly convinced, though he also didn't sound particularly _un_ convinced either. Mostly, he just sounded... tired.

Kakashi could relate to that.

He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders as he turned to look at the genin. "What happened?" he questioned. He'd heard the general details from the Hokage just minutes earlier, had barely even waited for the man to finish before rushing to the hospital, but he wanted to hear it from Masaru's own mouth.

The boy blinked once, slow and mechanical, before giving his head a tiny dip and complying. "At around eight fifteen I was walking through an empty street when I noticed something bright orange on the ground," he reported dully. "I recognized it as Naruto's jumpsuit and found him unconscious with a steady pulse. I immediately flared my chakra to summon help as per official procedure."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened. "And he had no visible injuries or cause for him to lose consciousness?" he questioned lowly, and Masaru shook his head.

"None. ANBU arrived and confirmed him to be stable before transporting him to the hospital."

"Our medics confirmed it to be the work of a Hyuuga clan member," the Hokage offered behind him, and he turned to see the elderly God of Shinobi approaching with a worried-looking nurse trailing at his side. "Someone used the Gentle Fist to strike just the right tenketsu and vital points to knock him out."

"Uzumaki-san will be fine," the nurse interjected. "We had a Hyuuga medic on shift when he arrived who unblocked his tenketsu. He'll need to sleep it off, but he should be fine once he wakes up." Kakashi nodded slowly, relaxing a bit. Naruto always recovered fast, he'd be fine.

"Any ideas who the perpetrator is?" he questioned. Logically Naruto should be able to tell them once he woke up, but he didn't like the idea of waiting that long and leaving his assailant free.

"I sent a missive to Hyuuga Hiashi to inform him of the situation and ask for his cooperation in finding the culprit," the Hokage responded, still sounding so very, very tired. "He's still gathering the whereabouts of all Hyuuga clan members since several have been stationed at temporary guard points around the village since the invasion, whether under orders or voluntarily to ease some of the more worried residents. I expect the report should be delivered within the hour."

Kakashi nodded once, unhappy with the timeline—it was already midnight and Naruto had been found at _eight_ , how long could it take?—but accepting he couldn't just go out. "I could go to the crime scene with my ninken and check for any scents," he volunteered, but the Hokage shook his head.

"Thank you for the offer, but there's no need for that. We already have a narrow pool of suspects and the culprit hasn't left the village—we've strengthened the seals on all of the walls, and the gate guards have confirmed no Hyuuga have left. There's no urgency in locating them, we can deal with them properly in due time."

Kakashi frowned, still displeased with the lack of immediate action, but he couldn't argue with the Hokage's reasoning. They knew that Naruto's attack hadn't been some random serial mugger or foreign ninja, and they already had plenty of suspects who couldn't just blend into a crowd. Konoha had far higher priorities at the moment than chasing some stray Hyuuga who'd attacked him. People needed a sense of peace and security more than anything after the invasion, so they needed to focus their limited resources on that.

However, the fact that a Hyuuga attacked Naruto at _all_ unsettled him. Horrible as it was to admit it, plenty of people did not like Naruto and still blamed him for the Kyuubi's attack. Supposedly the Hyuuga would know better though, thanks to their Byakugan allowing them a better understanding of chakra in general. If anyone would be able to understand that Naruto was _not_ the fox, it would be the ones who could see the distinctly separate cluster of chakra sealed in him.

More than that, the Gentle Fist was highly distinct and identifiable, _especially_ to Leaf ninja. So why would they choose to use _that_ to attack him?

Something didn't add up. His eye slid to Masaru, the boy still slumped in the seat. "Ah, Masaru-kun, it's pretty late," he commented casually. "Sasuke must be getting worried by now. You should go home." An unspoken dismissal, a request for him to leave so Kakashi could speak to the Third about confidential matters.

And somehow, Masaru either missed it or chose to ignore it.

"Good," he grumbled, scowling as he pulled his feet onto the chair to tuck his knees to his chest. "Maybe then he'll come looking for me and he can wait for Naruto to wake up too."

Kakashi ogled the boy for a moment, surprised his dismissal had been soundly rejected. He shot a glance at the Hokage and found a glimmer of amusement in the man's eyes, faint and poking above the tension in his face. "Masaru-kun, I believe Kakashi wishes to speak to me alone," he offered, and the boy huffed, looking away.

"I'm not leaving. _Someone_ has to be here when he wakes up." Kakashi just stared at him, because _did he really just backtalk the Third Hokage_? He never would have pegged Masaru as the type to ignore orders like that.

Fortunately the Hokage seemed more amused by the blatant disrespect than anything, his lips twitching upwards as he regarded the boy. "You really do care about him, don't you?" he asked softly, and Masaru pressed his cheek against his arms, still staring at the door next to him.

"He's my friend," he mumbled. "'Course I care."

"Very well then. Kakashi, I believe there should be an empty room for us to speak in privately." Kakashi just nodded, still staring at the boy in mild alarm and wariness, but dutifully turned to follow his leader. The nurse led them down the hall to a closed door, opening it so they could enter before quietly closing it behind them. They stood inside a generic doctor's office, standard layout of a desk and filing cabinets with a few personal touches here and there that Kakashi paid no mind to.

"Well, it seems Masaru still cares for Naruto after all," he commented carefully, and the Hokage smiled, walking around the desk to stare out the window.

"He does," he agreed quietly. "I worried about those two after everything that happened, they seemed to drift apart. It appears I was wrong, and Masaru instead continued showing his loyalty from the shadows." His phrasing made Kakashi wonder, sensing some unspoken story behind those words, but this was neither the time nor place to delve into the boy's past activities.

"Speaking of shadows, have you considered the perpetrator might be operating there too?" he inquired, and the smile fell from Hiruzen's face, his expression hardening once more as he turned to face him.

"You suspect Danzou in having a hand in this," he deduced calmly, and Kakashi nodded once.

"He hoarded children with rare abilities. It wouldn't be too strange for him to seek out a bastard with the Byakugan." He couldn't think of any motives for Danzou to have Naruto attacked just yet, but he couldn't discount the possibility. Not after everything he'd seen and experienced with the man, not after reading that damned letter linking him to the Uchiha massacre.

Across from him Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, clearly disagreeing. "Given your history with the man, I don't blame you for being suspicious of him," he allowed carefully. "However, consider this: the Hyuuga's Caged Bird Seal has a function which prevents them from creating bastard children."

That... did not occur to Kakashi as a possibility. "What?" he breathed, staring at him wide-eyed. "I—what? _How?_ "

"The specifics are unimportant, but they've been using it as a form of birth control for years. As it stands, members of both sexes can only conceive a child within the walls of the Hyuuga compound."

"I'm surprised there hasn't been a revolt," Kakashi muttered, still reeling from this revelation, and the Hokage smirked ruefully.

"From my understanding, they're actually quite supportive of it. It's a fairly recent modification, only added since Konoha's founding after a certain... _incident_ , with some other clans' children." He grimaced as he spoke, and Kakashi felt himself grow somber as he recognized exactly which incident the Hokage spoke of, though it had happened well before his birth. Several children from various clans had been left for dead on various missions, only for a single girl to come crawling back to Konoha revealing they'd been captured and used for breeding purposes.

The news had caused a major uproar. The rest had been rescued within a few months, but some of the girls had already been pregnant. He remembered a Yamanaka girl with near-black hair, and Asuma had a single cousin with a shock of dusty blond hair as opposed to the typical browns and blacks in the Sarutobi clan. Minato-sensei himself suspected his father had been from Iwa after noting an uncanny resemblance to some Rock ninja he saw, though he never did seek out direct confirmation.

After that, it made sense the Hyuuga wouldn't be opposed to incorporating birth control into their seals. The whole tragedy just made it disturbingly clear that some heinous people would never see children as children, but instead as raw resources for future generations of soldiers and tools. Tsunade and Mito had invented a birth control seal for kunoichi to prevent such a travesty from occurring again, and they'd willingly distributed it to other hidden villages, one of the few cases of total international unity in recorded history.

He pushed the grim thoughts away, deciding to focus on more pertinent matters. "So then the only way he could attain a Hyuuga would be through willing recruitment, or kidnapping one before they got sealed. And either scenario would be vehemently and loudly opposed by them." The Hyuuga would never allow someone to get their hands on the Byakugan, even a Branch House member who'd been sealed; and they would _definitely_ notice if one of the members suddenly walked around sporting a new seal on their tongue.

"Exactly," the Hokage confirmed with a nod, and Kakashi felt himself relax, just a little. Someone had still attacked Naruto, but at least it wasn't Danzou and more likely to be a random attack.

Before he could say anything further they both felt a sharp spike of dark chakra, both men stiffening as their blood ran cold. The hairs on the back of Kakashi's neck stood on end, flashes of red and a heartbroken howl flashing through his mind. Without a word both men surged out of the room, crossing the length of the hallway within a single second to halt outside Naruto's door. Masaru sat on the floor before it in shock, his eyes wide as he stared into the room.

Kakashi wasted no time rushing inside, finding his student sitting up with tears streaming down his face even as red chakra wavered around him. Being so close to the Kyuubi's chakra made him feel nauseous and sick, bringing back all sorts of unspeakable memories, but he pushed through his discomfort to rush to the boy's side and grab Naruto's shoulders. Teary blue eyes snapped up to look at him, fear and grief whirling in them in equal parts.

"K-Kakashi-sensei?" he sputtered. The chakra had already started to recede, withdrawing back into him, and Kakashi tightened his hold. The Kyuubi's chakra only leaked when Naruto got particularly emotional, which didn't bode well.

"Naruto," he said, "What happened?" The blond sucked in a shuddery breath, his face crumbling.

"She—she _left_! Sh-she was crying and knocked me out—" He stopped short, shaking his head. "She—she sounded so _scared_! She kept apologizing and rambling, it didn't make any sense, b-but she was _crying_ , i-it sounded like sh-she was saying goodbye _forever_ —"

"Naruto," Kakashi cut in, silencing the ramble. He looked Naruto in the eye, projecting as much seriousness as he could. "Slow down. Who knocked you out?" Naruto stared at him for a moment, still looking so lost and overwhelmed, but then he sucked in a shuddery breath.

"Hinata-chan," he forced out, tears pricking his eyes. "She knocked me out!"

At that point the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees, Kakashi's blood turning to ice in his veins as his face went slack with disbelief. Hinata? Shy, timid Hinata who had a crush on him? He stared at Naruto in shock, questioning if he'd misheard, only to stiffen as he felt a sudden presence appear behind him. Twisting his head, he found the Hokage hovering directly behind him, a grave expression on his face.

"Naruto, did you just say Hyuuga Hinata was the one to knock you out?" he asked lowly, and Naruto bobbed his head, eyes still shiny and brimming with wetness.

"Kakashi-sensei, Jiji, she sounded so _scared_! She kept saying all this weird stuff about her family and not being s-strong—she, she said they _terrified_ her!" He shook his head wildly, frowning deeply. "That can't be true! She's not a bad person, and her cousin's a jerk but that's not enough to make her want to leave! They're her family, they can't be _that_ bad! Someone must've told her something and tricked her into leaving!"

As he continued rambling the Hokage just regarded him gravely, exhaling quietly through his nose. "Naruto-kun," he interrupted softly. "I understand you're upset. However, right now we need to have the medics check you. We'll listen to your full report once you've been given a clean bill of health, alright?"

The blond deflated but nodded, tears still pricking his eyes. "It's not her fault," he whispered, soft and almost broken, and the Hokage nodded before turning with a gesture for Kakashi to follow. The jounin lingered a moment before doing so, his gaze flicking to Masaru who stood in the doorway with wide eyes. Two medics pushed past him to crowd around Naruto and began an urgent examination, and Kakashi quietly closed the door behind him to give them privacy.

"I don't think it bears reminding you none of this should be repeated yet," the Hokage commented to Masaru softly. The boy just stared at him in shock, turning to the closed door with still-wide eyes. Kakashi ignored him for the time being, focusing on his leader.

"What happened while I was away?" he demanded lowly, because he _knew_ there was more to this story. None of what Naruto just said fit in with his profile of Hyuuga Hinata. The fact Naruto mentioned Hinata claiming to be terrified of her family particularly rang alarms in his mind. He'd been away from Konoha running missions nearly constantly since the invasion, he'd fallen out of the loop with local politics.

The Hokage just eyed him evenly, soon huffing a defeated sigh. "I have not been keeping tabs on the situation, but I've been told Hinata has only returned home once since the invasion." If he didn't have Kakashi's attention before, he certainly had it now.

"She ran away?" he questioned, eyebrows furrowing. Clan children ran away from home on occasion during their rebellious years, but for one to stay away for more than a month? And nervous, introverted Hinata, at that?

"Apparently she's been staying with the Aburame," Hiruzen answered, shaking his head. "I have no details, but I suspect she felt overwhelmed by the pressure from her family after she fled from her match, and sought refuge with her teammate Shino. Since the Aburame and Hyuuga are both Noble Houses, the Hyuuga cannot use their political sway to demand they turn her over."

Hearing the Aburame name brought to mind the small boy who had transferred into his squad to replace Itachi and the Aburame who'd followed the young genius after his promotion to captain, the buzz of kikaichu an incessant presence in Team Ro's barracks for the first few weeks. The Aburame clan had struggled hard to reclaim Torune from Danzou's grasp, and once they had him they had no intentions of risking him being stolen away again. It didn't surprise him they'd extend that protective attitude to another fearful child.

"This is too extreme a reaction for just that though," he muttered. "Even if she got tricked into believing them to have worse intentions—"

"I don't think she was tricked." The interruption came not from the Hokage, but Masaru, his voice quiet but angry. Both men turned to look at the teenage boy, finding him still staring at the closed door. His eyes had shifted to red at some point, his hands curling into fists at his sides.

 _Anger,_ Kakashi identified, an almost irrational amount of it, while the Hokage turned to face him with a stern look. "Masaru, do you know anything about this?" he demanded quietly. The boy's gaze flicked towards him, his mouth thinning briefly before he nodded.

"Yesterday Ino told me Hinata's cousin Neji visited her family's flower shop looking for her. And the day before that, I saw a Hyuuga elder talking to her." The six tomoe in his eyes spun a little faster at that, pure rage and loathing flashing across his face for the briefest of moments. It took Kakashi aback to see such vehement, cold hatred in the usually quiet and docile boy, and he instantly felt himself stand on edge.

Just as quickly as it appeared the look faded and Masara squeezed his eyes shut, turning back to the door. When he opened them again his eyes were inky black, his rage more subdued now but still there. "I couldn't hear what he said, but she looked ready to cry. I didn't want to get involved because I figured it was clan stuff. If I knew it would turn out like this..."

He trailed off, while the two men exchanged pointed looks behind him. A threat from a clan elder, _and_ her cousin looking for her? It sounded like the Hyuuga clan may need to explain some things as well.

"I assume you heard that," the Hokage said. On cue two masked figures melded out of the shadows, his ANBU guards kneeling behind him to await orders. "Alert the council as quickly and discreetly as possible, and also inform Hyuuga Hiashi to report to my office in an hour." The pair nodded and disappeared to carry out their tasks, while he turned his attention to Kakashi. "In the meantime, we should go there first. It's a bad time, but unfortunately I have some other news to discuss with you."

He raised his hand to press beneath his right eye with his thumb as he spoke, brushing away sand from his lower eyelid. Kakashi's stomach dropped at the motion, his whole body chilling as he struggled to maintain his usual unaffected front. He recognized the gesture, they'd established it as a signal for the masked man. And given what he'd just said, he doubted it had to do with the situation at hand.

"Did my students get in trouble again?" he asked, inclining his head while drawing upon all of his skill to sound casual.

"Unfortunately, yes," the Hokage confirmed gravely, and Kakashi's stomach sank. The aged veteran turned to Masaru. "Masaru-kun, please wait here. I would rather not leave Naruto alone after the medics are done." The Uchiha finally turned away from the door, an almost offended frown on his face.

"I'm never leaving Naruto," he said firmly. The Hokage sighed and nodded, turning back to Kakashi.

"Let's go, our time is limited and there is much to discuss." With that they took their leave in the form of body flickers, Kakashi's chest twisting with dread as he followed his leader.

* * *

At that same time Shimura Danzou marched down the halls of his house, two of his Root agents trailing behind him. Normally he would be asleep at this hour, but this particular night he felt a sense of unease that left him unusually restless. Perhaps it had to do with the news of the attack on the Kyuubi jinchuuriki or lingering concerns about security after the invasion, but the reason ultimately did not matter. Experience had taught him to trust his sense of paranoia, so he'd decided to patrol the base himself.

His cane made no sound as he walked, his steps just as silent as the two Root shadowing him. On the surface, everything seemed fine. The atmosphere lacked any strange tension or the cliché of being _too_ quiet, and the entrances showed no sign of anyone besides himself or his agents passing through. Not even a single fly had managed to penetrate the security and buzz through the halls. All in all, the quiet almost made him feel his unease to be unjustified.

He stopped in front of a sealed door, tapping it with his cane. Dark seals lining its perimeter lit up briefly before fading to a dormant gray, allowing him to push it open. He stared into a windowless study with only a dim lamp to provide light, the shelves neatly organized and the desk in the back bare.

Danzou froze, his eye widening in alarm.

He wasted no time entering, crossing to the desk in two long strides and looking at the bare surface. His gaze flitted to the shelves, skimming the books and scrolls within a few seconds before spinning to face the two agents who'd shadowed him. "Send messengers to the administration building and Sarutobi's residence immediately," he ordered. "Tell him an emergency has occurred and I will be there within five minutes."

The Root nodded and vanished to carry out his orders, while Danzou turned to survey the room with tightly pursed lips. He knew this wasn't a mistake on his agent's parts. Only he could seal and unseal the door, and he never left anyone in the room unsupervised. When he'd left that evening, he had personally made sure everything was still in order himself, the current research project left on the desk. The fact the desk was bare told him two things:

Someone had somehow broken into the room, and that person had stolen the Second Hokage's notes on the Edo Tensei.

* * *

 **Not much action, but lots of important stuff and setup here. Things are going to be exploding fairly soon. This arc and twist is definitely a tricky one, and I'm honestly still not 100% sure how it will ultimately turn out, but I can't say I regret it.**

 **So with that said, bad news:**

 **I am putting Echoes of Light on a brief hiatus.**

 **Right now we're almost caught up on the draft, and I want to tweak what I have written of the next couple of chapters. Between writing these two stories and my summer class, I don't have time to get a satisfactory version done. This chapter is a bit less cruel of a note to end on than last, so I'll stop here. My summer class ends on June 19th, so the next chapter will be June 27th.**

 **Thanks to all my reviewers: goofboy96 (this actually IS mercy), Elise142, XWingWolfX, xXSpades231Xx (1. Sure, why not? I already made the Great Fireball actually kill someone anyway. 2. He was a bit late. 3. Not sure. 4. Probably not, I only saw a few of the movies and filler arcs can get annoying. 5. She's fine for now, but come morning she's going to be freaking out.), Beyogi (yep, she ran), .tatiana (thank you very much), NetherLord, 125b (thank you, I humbly accept this award and will save my evil laughter for later), and KadeBear (Orochimaru's pretty much good as dead right now, so she won't have to deal with him at least).**

 **Thank you all for reading this, both reviewers and my silent readers as well. See you all on June 27th.**


	60. Chapter 57: Peace Feels Insulting

Chapter 57

* * *

 _"How is it that the most peaceful days can be the ones where everything changes the most? How is it that after everything changes, the next day can still be totally peaceful?"_

* * *

An unpleasant buzz woke Shino from his slumber. His eyes opened reluctantly as he sat up, his mind still fuzzy from sleep but his grogginess overruled by the buzzing beneath his skin. His kikaichu writhed with an unusual amount of energy as they crawled through his body, forcing him into a state of alertness at sharp contrast with his desire to continue sleep. A glance at his window told him it was still early morning, the sky outside still that pale blue that hinted sunrise to be less than an hour away.

He frowned as he got out of his futon to begin dressing, silently wondering what had made his kikaichu so unsettled. In the past they'd woken him up during missions when someone intruded on the campsite, but this time their energy seemed far less urgent. Just... uneasy. Pulling on his jacket, he soundlessly stepped towards his door and slid it open, peering into the hallway.

The door to the guest room down the hall was open, shadows stretching against the opposite wall amongst the pale light. Shino frowned, stepping into the hall. "Father?" he called softly. One of the shadows shifted and his father stepped out of the room, nodding at him.

"Shino. Come here." Shino nodded and walked over, glancing at the open door as he approached. ANBU agents milled about inside inspecting the furniture, combing through the drawers of the dresser and unfolding the futon to shake out the blanket. Torune hovered near the door still dressed in his sleeping yukata, his back to Shino but his shoulders tense and rigid as he watched them. Shino's frown deepened at the sight, his gaze flicking back to his father as his eyebrows knit together.

"Father, what is going on?" he asked, and Shibi sighed, placing his hands on Shino's shoulders as he bent downwards. The teen stiffened at the contact, alarm bells blaring in his head at the carefully gentle demeanor his father assumed. Though he'd only experienced it once before, he recognized it as the sort of gesture reserved for comforting someone in preparation for bad news. The furrow in his father's brow just further confirmed his suspicions that something was horribly wrong, and he wouldn't like whatever he heard.

However, even knowing that, he still wasn't prepared for the implications of Shibi's next words.

"Shino, when did you last see Hinata?" he asked, and Shino's mind went blank.

* * *

Word spread around Konoha slowly at first, just quiet whispers, but as the day went on it quickly picked up pace. By that afternoon whispers could be heard everywhere about the wayward Hyuuga heiress, the village buzzing with uneasy tension as ANBU combed the streets in search of the missing girl. No one had the exact details, the only information being released that she had gone missing, but naturally that was more than enough fodder for the rumor mill.

Ino _hated_ it.

For once, Konoha's self-proclaimed queen of gossip had absolutely no interest in the rumors currently spreading in the village. With her mouth set in a tight line she flipped the sign hanging on the flower shop's window from "open" to "closed" and locked the door, turning and stalking into the back room. Shikamaru and Chouji sat at the table holding hanafuda cards, but they set them down to turn to her as she entered.

"Closed for the day?" Shikamaru guessed, and Ino huffed, not bothering to suppress her irritated scowl.

"I don't care what daddy says, I'm not working another minute," she declared testily. "Can we go?"

"Sounds good to me," Chouji declared jovially, getting up. "It's lunchtime anyway. C'mon, my uncle told me about this new place down by Yakiniku Q, I really wanna try it out." Ino shot him a dark look but didn't bother snapping about his obsession with eating this time, just followed him and Shikamaru without a word.

None of them had any idea what was going on. That morning she woke up to find her father had rushed out in the middle of the night, leaving Ino to run the shop alone since her mom had already promised to help watch a cousin's baby that day. She'd only found out Hinata had gone missing after the first customer asked her about it, and from there the shift got steadily worse. Her only solace had been when Shikamaru and Chouji arrived with similar stories of their fathers disappearing that morning, and offering to stay in the back for moral support.

Maybe her dad would get mad at her for closing the store early, but _she didn't care_. Ino honestly, truly, could not bring herself to care a single iota about how mad or disappointed he might be. Three hours into her shift, she just couldn't take it anymore. Customers kept talking right in front of her about their crazy speculations about Hinata, ranging from everything from kidnapping to fleeing an assailant to even attempting some horrible crime before fleeing the village.

It just compounded her own worries, the blonde constantly flashing back to Hanabi's teary panicked visit just the day before crying about the Hyuuga elders.

 _"What do you mean?" Ino demanded, now all business. "Calm down, and tell me everything." Hanabi sucked in a deep breath as she nodded, clearly trying to calm herself._

 _"The elders—this morning I heard them talking about nee-chan. One of them said he'd told her to come back by tonight, o-or..." Her voice cracked as she trailed off, genuine horror flashing in her face. Ino frowned as she leaned over the counter, lowering herself to be closer to eye level with the girl._

 _"Or?" she probed gently, and Hanabi blinked, turning fearful white eyes towards her._

 _"He said he'd_ seal _her!"_

Her mouth thinned at the memory. Ino knew next to nothing about the Hyuuga clan's traditions and Hanabi had refused to elaborate on what she meant by sealing her, but the sheer terror in Hanabi's voice had made the details irrelevant. She couldn't forget the _fear_ in the girl's eyes, genuinely fearful for her sister's safety, and that was enough for Ino.

She might not know what happened last night, but she _knew_ the Hyuuga elders had some sort of blame in this.

Ahead of her Shikamaru suddenly stopped, snapping her out of her thoughts. He turned his head with a small frown, watching Kiba stalk down a street nearby. The Inuzuka didn't seem to notice them, angrily shoving past some passing pedestrians before disappearing from their line of sight. The trio exchanged worried looks, all of them recognizing what had Kiba in such a bad mood.

"Should we go after him?" Chouji asked. "He looked like he wanted to kill something..."

"He always looks like that," Ino offered, but even to her own ears her words felt flat and half-hearted at best. She and Chouji cast each other uncertain looks, but Shikamaru just sported his usual expression of boredom and mild exasperation.

"This is troublesome," he declared flatly, and sighed as he scratched his neck. "Come on, let's just get to the restaurant already. We can't really do anything." Chouji nodded, still looking uncertain, but turned to lead the way anyway. Ino stood still for a moment, casting one last look in the direction Kiba headed.

Honestly, she had no idea how to deal with Kiba. Her dad had taught her how to handle interacting with comrades going through a variety of tough situations, like the death of a teammate or a career-ending injury, but this? She still had no idea what went down with Hinata, just that she was _gone_. Her father had never covered that sort of situation, especially when it came to people so young. Trying to talk to Kiba now might just backfire and make him more upset.

Biting her lip, she turned and reluctantly trailed after her teammates. Her appetite had totally vanished, but she didn't want to be alone right now.

* * *

The mood at the Haruno household could only be described as somber.

Naruto sat on the living room couch with a blanket draped over his shoulders, for once dressed in a simple white shirt and shorts with his eyes red and puffy from crying. Sakura and Masaru sat on either side of him, each projecting as much support as possible, while Sasuke just sat on the armchair with a stiffness to his posture as he leaned forward. They glanced up as Mebuki opened the door carrying a tray with steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a soft if not sad smile on her face as she set it on the coffee table.

"Here, drink up," she told them. "It's a bit warm out for hot chocolate, but there's nothing better than this when you need cheering up."

"Thanks, mom," Sakura said, managing a feeble smile as she reached for the nearest mug. Her mother returned it with a gentle smile of her own before quietly retreating, closing the door behind her to give them privacy. Once she left Sakura's smile slid off her face, looking down at the mug and staring at her reflection in the dark liquid. Solemn silence descended once more as the others on the couch mimicked the gesture, Masaru quietly sipping while Naruto just held his mug with empty eyes.

"You never told us." Sasuke broke the silence, prompting three pairs of eyes to flit his way. His gaze remained focused on Naruto, his mouth a thin frown. "Why didn't you tell us about your apartment?"

The blond blinked slowly and averted his gaze, his bangs falling into his eyes without his hitai-ate to hold them back. "It just... didn't seem important," he said quietly. "You guys had other stuff to worry about, what with Sakura-chan's dad, and you and Masaru..." He trailed off, offering a half-hearted shrug. "Just... I didn't think it was a big deal, I guess." Sakura's grip tightened on her mug, her lips curling back slightly.

"Idiot," she said softly, and she could see him look at her in her peripheral vision. She kept her gaze trained on the chocolate, glaring dully at her hazy reflection. "We're Team Seven. That means whatever happens to you affects us too."

Naruto didn't respond right away, seeming to just mull over her words. "...Does it really matter though?" he finally asked. "My apartment's gone, but Jiijii said I could stay with Konohamaru and his mom. They even got me a bunch of stuff to replace everything I lost, it's not like I had anything special there anyway—"

 _Crack._

They all stiffened at the distinct crack of porcelain, their gazes simultaneously focusing on Sakura's mug. She could see a sliver of a break extending from where her hand gripped it, barely visible but still there. Biting her lip, she raised the mug and sipped from it, the hot liquid scalding her tongue but the pain going ignored. She lowered it with a small exhale, her face perfectly stony and blank. "Sorry," she said flatly. "Just a bit frustrated, that's all."

The others just regarded her in silence for a moment, and then Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Naruto, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," he declared bluntly. "Didn't you learn _anything_ back in Wave?"

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably, clearly remembering those tense moments hiding in the cave from Zabuza. Sakura felt herself grow equally somber as she recalled Naruto's near-suicidal proposal to use himself as a distraction so the others could flee, her own response echoing clearly in her head.

" _We're a team now. If we leave you behind, you'll just die. What kind of self-respecting ninja would sacrifice a teammate for a gambit we don't even know would work?_ "

"We're Team Seven," Sasuke continued in the present, his attention trained firmly on Naruto with a steely intensity. "Like Sakura said, that means your problems affect us too. Don't just hide stuff and pretend everything's okay, _tell us_." His words caused Sakura's stomach to twist, her gaze lowering to her lap once more for reasons she couldn't quite understand.

"It's not just you guys." Masaru spoke up this time, his face surprisingly placid and calm as he sipped from his mug. His eyes told another story though, agitation and distress clearly visible in them as he turned to look at the blond with a frown. "I'm not part of Team Seven, but I'm your friend too. It's not fair to keep something that big from us. We shouldn't have had to find out like... this."

The look Naruto sported could only be described as _stricken_ , his face looking ready to crumble as he stared wide-eyed at the brunet. "M-Masaru," he whispered, his voice oddly choked, and he quickly put down his still-full mug while wiping at his eyes with the back of his arm. He huffed a shaky breath, his arm lowering to rest on his lap. "She—she said she loved me."

The others froze at the admission, their eyes widening. "What?" Sakura whispered, feeling the color draining from her face. Naruto's shoulders trembled as he shook his head, his face looking even more drawn than before.

"When—when Hinata-chan knocked me out, she... she said, ' _I'm sorry, I love you. Goodbye._ ' I can't stop hearing her say that, she was crying when she said it." His voice dropped to a choked whisper, his body hunching forward as he bit back a sob. "I don't get it. If she really cared, why didn't she ever talk to me before?"

Sakura could feel her own heart break into a million tiny pieces as she listened to the miserable blond, her whole being overcome with nothing but pity and horror on her teammate's behalf. Even Sasuke looked stricken by the question, so full of pain and despair, openly grimacing and averting his gaze with a distinct look of discomfort. On Naruto's other side Masaru just frowned and looked back at his mug, his face blank and unreadable.

In the end, this was the core of the issue: Hinata had left, and she had done it in a way that absolutely shattered Naruto's heart. Sakura didn't know whether she wanted to hate the girl or pity her right now. Seeing the way her teammate suffered made her blood boil with rage, but at the same time she knew that Hinata had been under _immense_ pressure from her clan.

Possibly the only advantage Sakura had over her clan-born classmates had been the lack of expectations. Usually, that proved to be a _disadvantage_ since people didn't think a civilian-born ninja could accomplish, well, _anything_. Sakura herself had likely only been able to keep up with her peers because her parents had been career genin and still retained enough knowledge to help her train outside of classes. But at least she didn't have stodgy old clan elders breathing down her neck about being absolutely _perfect_.

Ino had told her plenty about how bad the Yamanaka clan could get at times in regards to her training, and even then she had often finished her rants with, " _At least we're not as stiff as the Hyuuga._ " Given how bad some of her stories could be, Sakura couldn't possibly imagine the pressure Hinata must have faced, _especially_ after she fled before her match with Naruto.

 _If only she'd just_ told _someone,_ she thought dismally, and then froze as her own words registered, her eyes widening.

"Oh," she said softly, oblivious to the questioning looks sent her way. Suddenly, she felt like a giant freaking hypocrite.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked hesitantly, and she blinked, looking over at him and then at Masaru on his other side.

"Masaru, I'm sorry, but could you please leave us alone for a few minutes?" she asked. "I... need to talk to Naruto and Sasuke alone for a few minutes. It's team business."

Masaru looked at her silently, his face still eerily blank and unreadable, but then he dipped his head in assent and rose to his feet. "Alright," he agreed easily, quietly putting down his mug. "I'll take a walk for a bit. Take all the time you need." She offered him a weak smile, feeling a little guilty for kicking him out. But right now, this was about Team Seven.

Once he closed the door she wiped the smile from her face, turning to her teammates with a stony frown. Naruto and Sasuke regarded her with alert looks, both sitting on edge as they sensed the tension she radiated. This was the first possible timing to tell them, when the pain from Hinata's departure was still so fresh. But she didn't think there'd ever _be_ a good time, and she didn't have much time.

' _We're Team Seven,_ ' she chanted in her mind, echoing her earlier words. Whatever happened to her affected them too.

She took a deep breath, and forced herself to speak.

"I'm leaving Konoha to train with Lady Tsunade."

* * *

Masaru quietly sighed to himself as he ambled down the street, secretly relieved to be out of the Haruno house. Dealing with such high emotions left him feeling drained, and the tensions in the room had been becoming too much. Don't get him wrong, he really wanted to support Naruto, but he'd already spent the whole night doing it. As bad as it sounded, he desperately needed a break.

As he strolled through the marketplace he spied a familiar bun-headed girl walking around the corner ahead, making him briefly perk up. However, his expression quickly dissolved into a grimace when he saw a second figure following her, and he immediately turned around. It had been a while since he'd spoken to Tenten, but he'd rather not have to speak to Neji right now.

Alas, luck was not on his side. He barely made it three steps before he heard Tenten call after him. "Hey, Masaru! It's been a while!" Internally groaning at his bad luck, he wiped off his grimace and put on the most neutral expression possible as he turned around.

"Hey, Tenten," he greeted with a nod and weak smile, trying his best to ignore Neji. "Sorry, I was away on a mission for a few days."

"Really? Lucky." The older kunoichi groaned, sagging tiredly. "We've been on cleanup duty almost nonstop. Gai-sensei volunteered our 'youthful power' for as many jobs as possible, even Lee's starting to get tired."

"You're kidding," Masaru deadpanned.

"I wish. I never thought I'd see the day." Neither did Masaru. He couldn't think of Rock Lee being anything but hyper and energetic. Actually, after a moment's thought he realized that he legitimately could not imagine the mini-Gai being tired. The closest he could get was picturing him walking and talking _somewhat_ normally, but then again, the older boy's overly abundant energy gave Masaru some... _reservations_ , about thinking on it too hard.

"Do you have any work today?" he asked, shelving the thoughts before they could get too disturbing.

"No, we have today off," Tenten replied with obvious relief. "I think most genin do, considering..." She trailed off at this point, her expression falling as she glanced at Neji. The older boy's eyes narrowed but he said nothing, pointedly looking away, and her shoulders slumped slightly in tired resignation. Masaru felt his mood grow a bit darker as he observed the brief silent exchange, reminded once more of Neji's role in the current state of affairs.

He took a step back, rocking on his feet. "Right," he said. "Anyways, it's been nice, but I need to go. Everyone's waiting for me back at Sakura's place, I just stepped out for a bit to get some fresh air while they all talked about some team stuff." Not a complete lie, but Masaru didn't intend to return to her house just yet.

Tenten's face fell a bit, probably recognizing his real reason for leaving, but she seemed to be understanding. "Alright. I won't keep you any longer. But sometime soon come find me for another sparring match. It's been way too long, and I want to see how much better you've gotten."

Masaru smiled a bit at that, dipping his head in assent. "Alright, will do. Later, Tenten." He nodded politely to Neji and then turned and walked away, not looking back. Once he'd turned a corner he exhaled in relief, his shoulders slumping as he continued onwards. He still had some time to kill before he planned to return to Sakura's house, so maybe he could go grab lunch or something. All he wanted was an easy, stress-free few minutes away from all this... _stuff_.

Alas, that would not be an option.

"Masaru!" For the second time in five minutes he resisted the urge to groan aloud as he turned to face Kiba, the Inuzuka pushing past a particularly crowded section of street as he ran over. Akamaru yipped in greeting at him from atop his head, though the canine seemed a bit more subdued than usual due to his partner's bad mood.

"Hey, Kiba," he greeted tiredly as the other boy reached him, not looking forward to this. Dealing with Kiba had not been in his plans for today. It had been tricky enough just supporting Naruto; Masaru had no idea where to even begin with handling Hinata's teammates. What could he even say to him? ' _I'm sorry your teammate ran away because her clan is full of giant assholes?_ '

Comforting people _really_ didn't come naturally to Masaru.

Luckily, Kiba didn't seem keen on discussing that mess just yet. "Masaru, I need a favor," he said, catching his breath. "And I need you to hold off on questions until afterwards." Masaru inclined his head, intrigued by the wording.

"What is it?" he asked, and Kiba straightened, meeting his gaze directly.

"I need to go to your old house."

* * *

 **And I'm back! Admittedly not much going on in this chapter, it's mostly just showing people's reactions, though there's at least one major revelation here. Have no fear, next chapter will expand on that, as well as cover Hiashi's reactions to this mess.  
**

 **Also, has anyone here watched** ** **Juuni Taisen? Because I _might_ be seven chapters deep into a fan fic for it. I highly recommend watching it if you haven't, I thought it would just be a battle royale-style story that focuses on fighting, but it's actually a lot deeper than I expected. I'm already looking forward to the sequel.****

 **Thanks to Elise142, goofboy96, xXSpades231Xx (Thank you! Also: 1. ...Maybe. 2. Not sure, depends on who captures him. 3. Maybe someday, Tsunade could probably fix it. 4. Small ponytail. 5. Oh, definitely.), Beyogi (That's not exactly how it went down, I'm afraid.), ArturoLJ50, Guest (thank you very much!), and polyptera.  
**


	61. Chapter 58: A Dangerous Place

Chapter 58

* * *

 _"The world is a dangerous place. You can only do so much against it alone."_

* * *

" _Angry_ " did not do Hiashi's current mood justice. "Furious" failed to adequately portray the dark storm brewing inside him either.

No, Hyuuga Hiashi could not think of a single word to properly describe his current mood as he sat in the conference room with nearly all of Konoha's influential figures. At the moment he barely even cared about the fact that the Hokage, his advisors, other clan heads and even normal jounin were now privy to what should have been a private family matter.

"You threatened to _seal her_?" he hissed at Fumito, voice seething with carefully controlled murderous urges. His elderly uncle remained unfazed by the sheer malice he radiated, just regarding him with narrowed eyes.

"Your daughter had been acting shamefully for far too long," he said bluntly. "A full month had passed since the last time she even set foot in the compound. I could not allow her shameful behavior to become public knowledge and risk besmirching our clan's reputation further, so I told her to return immediately."

"By _threatening her_ ," Yamanaka Inoichi cut in coolly, his eyes narrowing. The normally jovial and soft-spoken man had a harsh look today, sporting a stern frown usually reserved for the bowels of T&I as he glared at Fumito. "Frankly, I don't know what you expected. Hinata is a very sensitive child, by threatening her you forced her into a situation where she'd crumble under intense pressure, no matter what she chose."

"And that sensitivity is unbecoming of a shinobi," Fumito countered, just as cool. "That child's entire demeanor is a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan. She was taking too long to return on her own, I simply took matters into my own hands."

Hiashi's jaw clenched as he listened to Fumito's calm rebuttal, his teeth grinding in carefully suppressed rage. Fumito spoke so easily, justifying his actions with " _for the sake of the clan_ " just as he always did. He closed his eyes and counted to ten to cool his temper before speaking, but he didn't even reach three before another voice cut in.

"And you think you have no responsibility for that?" Kurenai growled. Hinata's jounin sensei looked ready to murder Fumito then and there, her scarlet-painted lips curled back in a half-snarl more fitting of an Inuzuka as she spoke. "When I met her, that girl thought she was completely useless! Almost all of our sessions involved trying to build up her confidence after being told for years she was a _failure_!"

"Kurenai, calm down," Asuma murmured beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kurenai didn't respond, just kept glaring at Fumito with hateful red eyes that seemed to put even the Sharingan to shame.

"Forget that, you said you'd place the Caged Bird Seal on her if she didn't return?" Jiraiya piped up. "Using it as a threat doesn't help your clan's arguments about it being ethical." His words ignited a small ember in Hiashi's stomach, even as the others began murmuring, but not for the reasons they likely suspected.

"That was an empty threat," he declared through gritted teeth. The others in the room turned to look at him as one, but he kept his gaze focused on Fumito, uncaring of his break in stoicism as he spoke. "We place it on prepubescent children because our records show that it's only safe to apply it _before_ a person's chakra coils have finished development. Placing it on someone Hinata's age is all but guaranteed to cause them permanent damage."

A sense of heavy discomfort fell over the room at his words, the others exchanging worried glances at this new information. The Hyuuga clan did not share much information about the Caged Bird Seal for security reasons, so this would be the first time any of them had heard about this fact. Even inside the clan, this particular fact rarely got mentioned. Fumito's eyes narrowed, his displeasure clear in them. "That is a clan secret," he noted coldly.

"I do not care," Hiashi replied bluntly. "I have allowed you and the other elders to get away with many things in the name of protecting our clan, I have even allowed you to kill my brother in my place. But this time I cannot turn a blind eye. I may be the head of the Hyuuga clan, but I am also a father. I've neglected that part of my duties far too long, and because of that I've failed my daughter entirely."

"You did not fail her. She failed herself—"

" _No,_ " he spat, his tone colder than ice and silencing the elder. "As her father, it is my duty to protect my daughter from harm. To that end, I gave Shibi my _blessing_ to house her after the invasion, because I knew you and the other elders would be toxic influences to her and cause her nothing but harm." Stunned silence fell at that, the gathered occupants of the room alternating between staring at him and the still-silent Shibi in the corner.

Hyuuga Nobuko squinted at Hiashi, her wrinkled mouth setting in a line of firm disapproval. "You never mentioned that to us."

"I saw this information as unnecessary," Hiashi responded simply. "We had other more pressing concerns after the invasion, including a total of fourteen casualties and three shinobi who are still missing to this day. I knew if I told you, you would all spend your time demanding I order her return instead of focusing on more pertinent matters. I hoped her absence would allow to focus on what was _truly_ 'best for our clan,' as you like to so often put it."

Hiashi paused ground his teeth once more, inhaling and exhaling through his nose to quell the growing storm inside him before he added, "Clearly, I was wrong."

Nobuko looked ready to argue, but before she could speak a stern voice cut in. " _Enough._ " All eyes turned to look at Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face drawn and tired but his eyes sharp and cold. "Clearly, a good deal of this is a clan matter and should probably be handled in more private settings. However, with that said, this meeting must focus on the more pressing issue: Hyuuga Hinata is missing, and all signs point to her running away. We need to discuss how to address the situation immediately."

"Do we even know she's left Konoha?" Homura interjected. "The gate and border patrols reported no unusual activity last night, and the barrier team confirmed no traces of anyone crossing it. The ANBU found a few gaps in the barrier, but accessing those would require skills I doubt a genin would have."

"I dunno about all that, but her scent trail randomly went cold," Tsume piped up grimly. "I checked it out myself before coming here, along with my two best hounds. She left the street and went into the woods way out from town, and then her scent just vanished, no trace."

"Did you notice anything noteworthy about her route?" Shikaku questioned, and the Inuzuka matriarch shrugged.

"Not really. She took a roundabout route and tried to keep to quiet and empty streets until she got closer to the woods, probably trying to avoid attention. Two streets over she crossed paths with Uchiha Masaru though, but that's pretty much it."

"That matches up with Masaru's report," the Hokage commented, reading through a file on the table. "He said shortly before finding Naruto he saw Hinata and noted she looked distressed. He spoke to her to about her encounter with Hyuuga Fumito, but she deflected his questions and left. He _did_ note she seemed distressed, but did not find it unusual given the circumstances, and did not connect her to Naruto's condition."

"Speaking of children who need mental help, that boy could probably use some therapy too," Jiraiya muttered under his breath. "Kid's still in total denial and evasion about what happened with his sister and Ryoko-chan."

"I'm surprised you still use that sort of honorific for her," Koharu sniffed, and he shot her a dark look.

"Sorry, she was only _my last surviving student_. It's hard to not get attached after knowing someone that long."

"Sorry to interrupt, but we should probably focus," Asuma suggested at this point, glancing at the Hokage. "We do have a meeting."

"Asuma is correct," his father concurred. "We can discuss the mental health of our youth later. I would prefer to avoid going on more tangents, if possible."

"Perhaps we need to approach this from a different angle," Danzou suggested next to him, and tense silence fell as everyone turned to look at the old war hawk. Hiashi knew his methodology had mixed reception among Konoha's shinobi populace, and he didn't miss the sheer distrust in many people's eyes as they gazed at him, his own included.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi questioned, speaking for the first time. He had taken up position in a more background type of area, leaning against the wall behind the war hawk and Hokage and surveying silently for the most part. Danzou did not bother looking at the wary jounin, his lone eye turned to face the room at large.

"Last night, someone broke into my private study and stole the Second Hokage's notes on the Edo Tensei."

Dead silence followed the declaration as the weight of his words set in. And then, an eruption of outraged cries.

"The Edo Tensei!?" "Isn't that the ability to raise the dead!?" "Why would you even have that!" "If that falls into the wrong hands, who knows what would happen!"

" _Silence!_ " Hiruzen barked, and everyone immediately went quiet. The Hokage looked even more tired now, gazing at Danzou with sharp, probing eyes. "I believe it goes without saying that we had previously agreed to keep that matter strictly confidential. Since you've mentioned it, I suppose that means you suspect a connection."

"I do," Danzou confirmed briskly. "The timing of the two incidents seems too close to be coincidence. My study was guarded by complex seals only I can access, and they showed no signs of being disturbed. I cannot explain how someone managed to intrude there, and we already had a team confirmed there were no lingering scents, chakra residues or other physical traces of an intruder."

A sense of discomfort filled the room as the people gathered caught on to his meaning. "You think the culprit kidnapped her," Inoichi whispered, eyes widening with horror.

"I believe 'kidnapping' would be inaccurate here, since all signs point to her leaving willingly," Danzou replied primly. Hiashi felt his blood heat up briefly at the implied threat of his daughter committing _treason_ before the war hawk continued, "However, that does not mean it was entirely her choice. The stresses of her present circumstances, combined with the threat she received, would have made her far more vulnerable to manipulation than normal. I suspect a third party took advantage of her insecurities to convince her that her safest option would be to leave, and then used her departure as a distraction so they could steal the Second Hokage's notes."

Hiashi's stomach lurched at his words, barely able to suppress his flinch. The idea of his daughter being tricked and led on by some unknown party, spurred on by an empty threat from their own _family_ —he felt sick just imagining it. A glance around the room revealed similar looks of discomfort, and more than a few heated looks directed at Fumito.

"Shit," Tsume finally breathed, breaking the uneasy silence.

"As much as I hate to say it, that sounds like the most likely scenario," the Hokage agreed grimly. "Even if that turns out to be wrong though, the core issue remains the same: all evidence points to Hyuuga Hinata no longer being in the village. We cannot allow someone with an unsealed Byakugan to linger outside the village. No matter the circumstances, she is in danger."

And there was the crux of the issue: Hinata had unsealed eyes. Hiashi's mouth pressed into a firm line, his expression growing grim. Historically, the Byakugan had always been the most vulnerable to doujutsu thieves, not because of a desire for it its abilities but because it was the hardest to hide. All Hyuuga clan members had the distinct white eyes, and while not all of them would be able to activate the Byakugan, many had still been killed for it anyway.

People didn't realize that the Caged Bird Seal had been developed out of necessity. Even after its invention, it had taken a few generations for word to spread enough to stop the senseless killings. Until then, the clan had lived in near-perpetual fear of being betrayed on missions and having their eyes gouged out. Half the reason the Hyuuga clan agreed to join Konoha was because the Uchiha clan could sympathize with their plight and help ensure their security.

And now, his daughter had absolutely none of that protection.

Hiashi swallowed harshly, his hands balling into fists at his sides. He had failed Hinata in the worst ways possible as a father, but he would be damned if he stood by idly waiting for news of her safety or demise. He'd find her, no matter what.

* * *

"I'm leaving Konoha to train with Lady Tsunade."

The reaction to Sakura's words was instant. Sasuke recoiled in shock, his eyes wide, while Naruto flinched backwards away from her in surprise. "W-what?" he stammered, his face draining of color. "You're... you're leaving?" Sasuke nearly jumped to his feet, half-rising from the armchair while glaring her down.

"You're going with _her!?_ " he spat. "What the hell, Sakura? Are you _still_ idolizing that woman after everything she said?"

"It's not like that!" Sakura said defensively, her hands balling on her lap as she stubbornly met his gaze. "It's more complicated!"

"Just because she helped save you at the last minute doesn't change what she did before!"

"What are you even talking about!?" Naruto blurted, the epitome of confusion as he looked between his teammates. "Who's Tsunade? And what do you mean she saved Sakura? Wait, is this about that mission you guys were just on!?" Sasuke scowled as he redirected his glare to the blond.

"Look, _dobe_ , it's a long story and I'm not going to waste time explaining it," he snapped. "And she _didn't_ save Sakura, she just showed up at the last second." Of course his answer didn't satisfy Naruto, the blond matching Sasuke's scowl with one of his own.

"If it's a long story, then start telling it already! Or give me the short version, or _something_!"

"The mission doesn't matter! All you need to know is Sakura's being an idiot!" At that point Sakura sharply rose from the couch, her head bowed and her fists clenched at her sides.

" _Enough,_ " she said lowly, and her teammates instantly fell silent as they turned to her. Sasuke still had that furious scowl on his face and Naruto looked more heartbroken than anything, but she didn't let their expressions get to her, just stared steadily at her feet. "It has nothing to do with me idolizing her. I asked to train with her because I'm tired of being the weakest link."

That did it. Sasuke's face instantly gave way to surprise while Naruto frowned, a fiery determination flaring in his eyes. "What? You're not the weakest link! You're the smartest one here! You're the one who came up with all those plans back in Wave, and then during the Chuunin Exams we got the second scroll because of your traps—hell, you're the one who recognized that creepy snake-bastard and got help before he could kill Sasuke or whatever!"

Naruto's voice rang with firm conviction as he listed off her "achievements," his faith and trust in her clearer than ever. It made Sakura's heart pang with guilt, her teeth running over her lower lip as her head bowed further. "But what did I actually _do_?" she asked lowly, and the blond blinked, looking more confused than anything.

"Huh? Whaddaya mean? You came up with all those awesome plans—"

"Naruto," she cut in, not looking at him. "Everything you just said, I came up with the plans, but what _else_? Haven't you picked up on it? I've done barely _anything_."

For all her high aspirations to become an ANBU captain, at the end of the day Sakura knew she had so many flaws and weaknesses. On Team Seven she played support more than anything, able to contribute little more than her sharp mind. She had been the only one to fail the preliminary round of the Chuunin Exams—taken down by her own poisons no less. During the invasion she'd only punched Temari and provided chakra to fuel the seal array, while Naruto and Sasuke had to face off _Gaara_.

Even her greatest "accomplishment" to date, that plan to take on Zabuza, had depended on Naruto and Sasuke's skills instead of her own. The only skill Sakura could contribute was making a stupid wig for a shoddy disguise that didn't even work. When they faced down the Swordsman she'd been near useless, only able to stand protectively in front of Tazuna while her teammates struggled to hold their ground against Zabuza and his apprentice.

Frankly, Sakura was the weak link on the team, and she _knew_ it. Somehow neither of her teammates had picked up on that fact yet, and it would only be a matter of time until they did, and—then what? Sasuke hated weakness, he would never respect her again and then she could kiss away her dreams of walking down that aisle in a pretty white dress. Naruto meanwhile would probably give some speech about protecting her and would coddle her endlessly, and

she

 _HATED_

 _IT._

"I'm not like you guys," she said, shaking her head. "You guys are so strong and always ready to jump on the front lines, but meanwhile I'm just hanging back doing nothing but support."

"Being support isn't bad," Naruto muttered, but his voice sounded much weaker than before, far more uncertain. She knew the boy's personal definition of an ideal ninja fell no where near a support-type role, not like the one she played.

"It's not," Sasuke confirmed with more conviction than their teammate. "Not everyone's cut out for fighting on the front lines. Coming up with good strategies is just as important as being strong, even more if we're ever in a war. That's why the Nara clan is so respected. They're lazy but their plans ended up winning decisive battles even if they didn't actually fight."

"But that's not good enough for me," she countered, her voice thick and heavy with emotion. "I can't just wait in the background while watching you guys save the day without me. I thought maybe if I learned medical ninjutsu, I could at least feel more useful, but instead..." Her nails dug deep into her palms deep enough to draw blood, her breath hitching as she squeezed her eyes shut.

 _Her mother sat clasping her father's hand as he laid in the hospital bed, his face ashen and the white blanket flat, flat,_ flat _around where his right leg should be. "There's nothing we could have done," the medic told her softly as she hovered in the doorway, her hands dangling limply at her side and her body feeling numb all over. "We had too many casualties, not enough medics."_

"My dad almost _died_ ," she choked out, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. "He got hurt trying to save a bunch of civilians and his leg got crushed by falling rubble, and I was there but I couldn't do _anything_ to help him, I couldn't even try to ease his pain. I can't even help my own _father_ , and I'm _sick of it_. I'm sick of being _useless_ and _weak_ and not being able to do _anything_."

When she opened her eyes and looked up she saw her teammates looking at her with looks of shock, their will to argue gone in the face of her grief. For all their differences, she knew they understood her father's injury to be a sensitive point for her. Sakura didn't know if she even _could_ have saved his leg as a fully-trained medic, but in the end it didn't matter.

She sucked in a deep, shuddery breath, rubbing her eyes before continuing. "Lady Tsunade isn't _just_ a medic, she can use her chakra control to break boulders with just her little finger. Even though I've tried to branch out into poisons and projectiles, at the end of the day I'm still more comfortable with close-range combat. So I've been trying to emulate her techniques using the notes Masaru lent me from his mom, but it's not enough. I'll do so much better if I learn directly _from_ her. Even Kakashi-sensei said so."

Even now Sakura remembered coming downstairs that morning to find her teacher sitting at the breakfast table with her parents, an expectant look on his face. The silver-haired man had clearly been briefed on what happened during the mission and informed about her decision to leave, but he'd still listened in silence and let her explain it anyway.

" _Honestly, she'd be a much better teacher for you than I would,_ " Kakashi had admitted once she finished explaining her reasoning. " _The foundations for your fighting style is already shaping to be similar to hers, even without her specific techniques. I was planning to see if we could develop it further, but you would be much better off learning directly from her instead of some copycat imitation._ "

Hearing even Kakashi say it was the right decision had eliminated any remaining doubts Sakura had. Training with Tsunade would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she _still_ felt shocked she convinced the cynical woman to agree to it. While she still had some general discomfort with the idea of leaving Konoha, she only needed to remember that feeling of utter _helplessness_ as she stared at the masked man in that dark warehouse, and her resolve hardened once more.

For his part, Naruto seemed more subdued now, no longer looking heartbroken but instead just a resigned sort of sad. "You're really leaving, then," he said, and seemed ready to say something else but then stopped. Sucking in a shaky breath, he asked, "When do you go?"

"I'm leaving in four days," Sakura replied quietly, growing a bit more somber. She knew leaving so soon after everything with Hinata would hurt Naruto so much, but she couldn't back down now. "Lady Tsunade and Shizune said they'd give me a week to get everything in order, and then I'd meet them in a town about five hours from here. The Hokage said he'll have a bunch of people escort me there."

"So you already cleared it with him?" Sasuke muttered. His anger had quieted somewhat but he still glowered at her, clearly displeased by the entire situation. "When did you even talk to her about this stuff?" She swallowed, turning to face him more fully.

"That last morning on the mission before we left, Shikamaru and I went to the restaurant where they usually have breakfast," she admitted reluctantly. "I told them what happened after they left, and asked Tsunade to train me."

 _"I can't do it anymore," she said, her voice low and heavy as she sat with her head bowed. "I can't just sit on the sidelines and wait for my teammates to save the day without me. I can't even heal them right now if they get hurt. I need to get stronger." Raising her head, she hardened her resolve as she continued, "And there's no better teacher than you."_

 _"Sakura-chan..." Shizune sounded heartbroken, her face full of concern and sympathy. The female Sannin looked less sympathetic than her student, regarding Sakura with narrowed eyes._

 _"And why should I agree to train you?" she asked lowly, and Sakura sucked in a breath as she squared her shoulders, forcing herself to meet the woman's cool bronze eyes steadily._

 _"Because you're right. At this rate I_ won't _survive long as a shinobi. This mission has taught me nothing if not that much. If that man had any serious intentions, I would be dead right now." Admitting it made her stomach clench painfully, the overwhelming fear and helplessness she'd felt during those long hours with him hitting her at once. Against literally anyone else, she would have been dead. She had survived only because he had seemed more interested in "educating" her than killing her, and she didn't even know_ why _._

 _Shoving the feelings away before they could consume her, Sakura forced her mind to calm as she continued in a steady voice. "But I can't stop now. I have people I want to protect, and if I quit being a ninja I'll_ always _be another helpless victim, and I'm sick of that. If I learn from the best, I'll at least have a_ chance _, and that's better than nothing."_

"How long will you be gone?" Naruto asked quietly, and Sakura turned to him with a small smile, weak and feeble but still genuine.

"I'm not totally sure," she replied honestly. "Lady Tsunade said she'd only train me until the next Chuunin Exams, so at least a few months, but I want to try to convince her to train me longer." Currently it was mid-September, and due to the international political upheaval regarding the invasion the winter exams would probably be pushed back to February or March instead. Five or six months wasn't _nearly_ enough time to learn everything she wanted to know, but it was something.

And if all went well, she'd have even more once they _all_ returned to Konoha.

Sakura didn't ask to train with Tsunade _just_ to improve herself; she still wanted the woman to come back to Konoha, and a training trip would give her the perfect opportunity to convince her to return. While Sasuke might blame it on her blindly idolizing the woman—and to a point he'd be right—Sakura honestly knew Konoha needed Tsunade's skills now more than ever.

Even the Third Hokage knew it, because once she told him about her plans he'd given her the task to convince the female Sannin to return. Not an official mission, but it was still a request from her village's leader she could not deny.

More than that, though, she _needed_ a teacher who could help her improve in ways and areas Kakashi couldn't. Sakura couldn't choose a better teacher than Tsunade, and if she could convince the woman to come back to Konoha, she wouldn't have to choose between training and her home ever again.

"It won't be forever," she said softly. "I'm not just doing this for _me_ , I'm doing this for _us_. You guys might be fine with the status quo, but I'm not. Someday we're going to face even stronger enemies, and we're already struggling enough as it is. I don't want to just sit there while you two have to protect me. I'm a member of Team Seven too, and I want to fight by your sides, no matter what happens."

Because while Hinata had crumbled under the pressure and run, Sakura wanted to face it head on.

* * *

The Uchiha clan compound smelled of emptiness and old death.

Kiba couldn't think of a better way to describe it. He could tell the area had received minimal traffic over the past five years, dust thickly permeating the air and the buildings in varying states of disrepair. More than that though, he _swore_ he could catch faint traces of corpses and blood as he walked through it. Maybe it was a psychological thing instead of actually there, because Akamaru didn't seem nearly as bothered as he felt, but it didn't change the fact he didn't like being there.

"Well, we're here," Masaru said dully next to him. They stopped in front of a traditional house, the only significant difference from the other houses simply the distance from the compound's entrance. "Last chance to back out." Kiba glanced at him from the corner of his eye, finding the other boy regarding him with an eerily blank expression. He took a breath and clenched his fists, forcing himself to shake his head.

"No going back now," he said firmly. Masaru regarded him in silence for a moment before finally nodding and walking to the door, Kiba trailing behind in silence.

The interior of the house was just as unremarkable as the outside. Paint and books defined the overall scent of the house, several paintings decorating the walls in the entry hall and hallways. Kiba didn't pay them much mind as he followed Masaru through the twisting halls, didn't even glance in the open doors they passed. He felt too high-strung to look around too hard, his stomach twisting painfully as cold sweat dripped down his neck.

Right now, Kiba's mind felt like it was running at a thousand miles a minute. In the past six hours since waking up his entire world had turned upside-down. Hinata was gone, no one knew where she went or if she was even _okay_ , all the adults had been called into some giant meeting to discuss what happened, and people kept _staring_ at him and _whispering_ —it made his head spin, his thoughts going too fast for him to even follow.

The Inuzuka clan tended to be people of _action_ , not words. Thinking too hard didn't fit them, and Kiba was an Inuzuka through and through. But even so, even with all those horrible thoughts and doubts, one thought kept coming to the forefront: He _needed_ to know.

Masaru stopped in front of a door and hesitated briefly, casting a final glance at Kiba before sliding it open to reveal what had obviously once been a room for two children. A clear divide could be seen in the décor, each half of the room containing a futon, a dresser and a bookshelf. Stuffed animals and children's books lined the bookshelves, small pictures decorating the walls. A painting bridged the divide in the center of the room, depicting a pale yellow two-tailed cat and a small child with reddish hair and blue clothes sleeping together in a meadow.

Directly beneath the painting rested two futons with neatly folded comforters on top, one decorated with maple leaves and the other plum blossoms. Kiba found himself drawn to the latter, kneeling next to it and pressing a hand to the fabric as he closed his eyes. Inhaling through his nose only brought him the musty scent of dust and dirt, all traces of the room's inhabitants long since faded, but beyond that... A memory.

A ghostly scent of citrus, embedded only in his mind.

He sucked in a sharp breath, his chest tightening with sudden _certainty_. Behind him Akamaru suddenly gave a ferocious growl though and his eyes snapped open, spinning around to find Masaru standing directly behind him. The boy looked perfectly calm and nonthreatening, his posture relaxed with his hands in his pockets. But then Kiba looked at his face, and saw his eyes glowed red with the Sharingan.

Kiba's blood chilled as he watched the six tomoe swirl almost lazily, the Uchiha inclining his head to the side. At that moment he felt no where near a ferocious predator, but instead like cornered prey, waiting for the hunter to make its move.

"So," Masaru said, sounding perfectly conversational, but something about his tone rang hollow and flat, making Kiba's stomach lurch in dread. "Am I allowed to ask questions yet?"

* * *

 **Happy Fourth of July to all my fellow Americans! Also unpopular opinion time: the Caged Bird Seal is actually really logical when you take away the brain damage part. Seriously, it's WAY easier to hide an inactive Sharingan than the Byakugan. That is all.**

 **Thanks to Elise142, xXSpades231Xx (I'm sorry? Also 1. Not really, it's pretty amusing. 2. Yep! Got my homework done with no worries.), I'm a guest (muahaha? And thanks), ManawaSasa, Beyogi, and Jossiemcg (Actually, I make up the quotes myself. Kinda sad I don't get more comments on them.)  
**

 **Next week, one of the longest chapters to date.**


	62. Chapter 59: Things You Shouldn't Know

So. Normally I do the "thank you for reviews" after the chapter's conclusion, but the ending of this chapter... Well, it'll ruin the flow, so I think I'll skip it this time. Originally, this chapter was supposed to be something else entirely. But after seeing everyone's responses to last chapter, and thinking it over... Well, I decided that this would work better. This chapter was written last night, so my editing isn't up to my usual standards since it's still fresh in my mind. That said, I really, really, REALLY want to hear everyone's feedback on this chapter. I've been waiting for this scene for a very long time.

On a final note: in my estimations based on Itachi and Sasuke's birthdays (June 9 and July 23) and their five-year age gap, the Uchiha Clan Massacre happened most likely in early to mid July, since Itachi was 13 and Sasuke was 7 at the time. I'm not sure I mentioned it in the story, but I happened to choose the date July 11th as a headcanon date, which is today's date. With that in mind, I honestly couldn't have picked a better date for this chapter.

Thank you for reading this in advance. I look forward to seeing your reactions.

* * *

Chapter 59

* * *

 _"Sometimes, there are things you just shouldn't know."_

* * *

 _The first time Akari approached Inuzuka Kiba, her friendship with Hinata had only been a week dead and all the girls in the academy had silently snubbed her as a snob. Being alone didn't suit the bubbly and extroverted Akari, and while eating with Masaru was fine, she needed more than her beloved brother. No, Uchiha Akari_ thrived _from being around others, and so for that reason she decided to approach the loudest boy in class besides the blond prankster her brother had claimed as a friend._

 _That, and one other reason._

 _"Doesn't the Inuzuka clan have dogs?" she asked bluntly. The brown-haired boy turned from his lunch as they sat on the playground, eying her warily._

 _"Yeah. What about it?"_

 _"Where's yours?"_

 _"What's it matter to you?" Kiba snapped irritably._

 _"I want to pet one," Akari replied, perfectly somber and serious. "I always try to pet Mom's cats, but they don't like it. Mom says dogs like being petted more."_

 _"Are you kidding me? Inuzuka ninken aren't pets you just play with, they're_ ninken _!_ Nin _-ken!" The Inuzuka boy scowled and wrinkled his nose at her, the red fangs on his cheeks pulling with the motion. "If you're just here 'cause you think dogs are cute, then buzz off and talk to the other girls or something! I only talk to_ real _ninja." With that he turned back to his lunch with a huff, effectively snubbing Akari. Because of that he didn't notice how her expression suddenly turned eerily blank, her black eyes flat and cold._

 _He_ also _didn't see her suddenly lunge for him._

 _He yelped as the Uchiha girl jumped and latched onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck in a headlock. He clawed desperately at her arms to get her to release him, struggling to push her off, but Akari wouldn't let go that easily. "_ You're _not even a real ninja!" she growled. "We're just academy students! Stop being a snob!"_

 _Jerking her full weight to the side she caused him to topple over easily, still clinging onto him even as they crashed and partially pinned her left arm under his side. Kiba grunted at the impact, his nails digging deep into her arms as they crashed, but still she held her grip. "Dammit, how the hell are you still holding on!?" he demanded angrily._

 _"I've spent seven years wrestling with my brother almost every day! This is nothing!" As they continued squirming on the ground other students watched on in silence, a quiet murmur rising among the small crowd that had gathered. Kiba managed to roll over even with Akari still clinging to him, and as he did she spied Masaru among the watchers. Their eyes met for a brief moment, black on black—_

 _And then Masaru woke up, his body jerking with a sharp intake of breath. Rolling onto his side, he groggily peeled open an eye to see Akari peacefully slumbering in her own futon, her blankets mostly kicked off and her limbs messily splayed around her. Masaru peeked at her silently, his hand unconsciously flitting to his left arm. Even now he could feel a small pinch from sharp nails digging into Akari's arm, his own arm just a bit sore and numb from being crushed._

 _Akari shifted, her head rolling to the side and one eye barely sliding open, her black iris barely visible in the darkness. "'aru?" she mumbled sleepily, barely audible and heavily slurred. "Wh'way? Y'druh't?"_ 'Why are you awake? You dream too?' _He translated her sleep-addled speech easily, closing his eye and giving a minuscule nod._

 _"Yeah," he whispered, just as quiet and only slightly more clearly. "Kib gra'vyu. Arms're. Saw me. Weird."_ 'Kiba grabbed you. Arms sore. Saw me. Weird.' _Akari made a quiet hum and fell silent, and when Masaru slit open a single eye he could see her face perfectly placid, already fast asleep once more._

 _Exhaling quietly, his eyelids slid shut a final time and his breathing smoothed out, sleep claiming him once more._

* * *

Masaru stared down Kiba coolly, his gaze cold and nearly apathetic as the tomoe of his Sharingan slowly spun. "Why did you want to come to our room?" he questioned, voice calm and casual. Behind him he could hear Akamaru growling, a low rumble ever-present in the room in response to his partner's nervous state, but Masaru ignored it in favor of focusing on the other boy.

With his Sharingan active he could see the tight tension in Kiba's muscles, the beads of perspiration forming on his neck and the miniscule flicker of his pupils as he swallowed. He could see hints of fear and nervousness, so alien on the normally bold and brash Inuzuka, but he didn't particularly care.

For his part Kiba felt every bit the part of trapped prey, his instincts screaming at him to run with his tail between his legs. It wasn't even the Sharingan that disturbed him so much, but his expression. Aloof and calculating, his face deceptively casual while just radiating a quiet sense of confidence and _threat_. Though he had only really started hanging around Masaru over the past month or so, the Uchiha's current demeanor did not match up with the awkward and shy boy he knew at all.

No, it _did_ match up with one detail. It reminded Kiba of the change when they would spar—the sudden _calm_ that would wash over Masaru, his moves confident and sure. Seeing that sort of look _now_ , what _should_ be outside a battle—it sent a prickle of unease down his spine, making him swallow harshly. He glanced at Akamaru at his spot behind Masaru, the small dog's hackles raised as he kept growling at the other boy. Though their gazes didn't meet, seeing his partner there, willing to back him up, gave Kiba a small burst of strength.

"You know, don't you," he said lowly, his voice strained and heavy as he turned back. He flinched when Masaru inclined his head, his face still placid and blank.

"Know what?" he asked, knowing perfectly well what Kiba meant, but he wouldn't say it out loud.

A flicker of resolve glinted in the other boy's eyes, his lips curling back slightly in the beginnings of a snarl fueled by nerves more than anger. "Akari," he grit out, the name forced and tight. "She—she smelled like citrus. Citrus and smoke, sometimes, but mostly just citrus."

Even as he spoke he could remember it clearly, the faint aroma of oranges and lemons and other citrus fruits that always clung to the girl. From the first time they met, when she'd dragged him down into the dirt and began wrestling, Akari had always carried that citrus-laden scent. It had been sweeter than he was used to, his clan always reeking more of the forest and dirt and dogs while other boys at the academy tended to smell of sweat and dirt.

Kiba knew it was a partially artificial scent, created by soaps and shampoos, but it had been more natural than the stuff other girls used. It had been natural enough that after she died he couldn't go to the market with his ma and sister for months on end, the aroma of oranges always sending him into a dark mood. They hadn't even been friends for three months before that bloody night, but that had been enough.

Akari had been pack, pure and simple, and Kiba would always remember his pack.

Masaru hummed, his thoughts flickering to the bathroom and the bottles of orange-scented shampoos and soaps that lined the shelves. "She always liked oranges," he reminisced, and smiled as he added, "She usually hated soft fruit though. Couldn't stand peaches and most berries. We used to argue about it for hours, I never could get that."

He laughed lightly, fully aware of how Kiba stood even more on edge as he stared at him. By this point Akamaru's growling had tapered off, the canine making a sound slanted more towards confusion than aggression. Masaru couldn't blame him. Akari had been before the dog's time, he had no background about Akari other than stories Kiba might have shared.

He turned his head slightly to glance at her half of the room, his gaze softening. He and Akari always had such different tastes. For all she liked to complain about the other girls at the academy for not taking their training more seriously, Akari had by no means been a tomboy. Her bookshelf contained a scattering of romance books and manga, the stuffed animals fluffier than his own and ready for cuddling. That had been the reason she approached Kiba, he remembered—Akari just wanted to pet a dog.

As far as he knew, she never got the chance.

His reminiscing smile faded as he turned back to Kiba, his face blank once more. "I don't like coming here," he said bluntly. "It feels too empty." Standing in their old bedroom left him in a melancholic mood. It made him highly aware of her absence, the missing spark in his life.

He didn't like it.

"Why did you want to come here?"

* * *

 _"Mom?"_

 _Masaru tugged on his mother's shirt hesitantly as she stood at the kitchen sink, scrubbing the dirty dishes left from breakfast. The woman hummed lightly, not turning her gaze away from her work but inclining her head slightly towards him to indicate he had her attention. "Yes, Masaru-chan?" The small boy paused, not so much out of hesitation or nervousness but simply needing to look for words._

 _"Akari and I had the same dream again," he told her._

 _"Oh?" Ryoko set aside her current plate to pick up another, rinsing off the remaining crumbs before dousing it in soap. "What happened this time?"_

 _"She was at the doctor's office getting a shot." His face screwed in discomfort as he recalled the memory, rubbing his arm. "It hurt." His mother paused at this point, turning curious black eyes towards him._

 _"You felt Akari getting the shot?" Masaru bobbed his head in silent confirmation, still rubbing the smooth skin on his own arm. "Was it just in the dream, or did you feel it yesterday?"_

 _He frowned at that. Faintly he recalled feeling a sting in his arm sometime yesterday while his sister had been gone, but it had been dull and brief. "It was stronger in the dream," he finally settled on. His mother looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, seeming to contemplate something. Eventually she smiled, turning back to the dishes with a fond hum._

 _"The wonders of twin telepathy will never cease to amaze me," she mused aloud, a note of quiet awe in her voice. "You two have such a wonderful connection."_

 _"What's twin telepathy?" The question came from Akari this time, still sitting at the kitchen table and fiddling with a wrapped popsicle. Ryoko set down the dish briefly and strode over, neatly swiping it away before she could open the wrapper._

 _"Nope, too early for sweets," she declared cheerfully as the five-year-old whined in dismay, stowing the icy treat in the fridge. "Back to the point, twin telepathy is a special bond between twins that lets you share pain and dreams."_

 _"Are all twins like that?" Masaru asked, looking at her curiously, and Ryoko tapped her chin with a thoughtful hum._

 _"I don't think so. Hiashi and Hizashi didn't really seem to have it, and they were_ identical _twins."_

 _"Then how do you know_ we _have it?" Akari questioned, still pouting over her lost treat. Ryoko smiled at her, bending over slightly and holding a hand over one side of her mouth._

 _"Because you're not the first twins in this family," she confided in a stage-whisper. The twins both perked up at that, looking at her with matching looks of sparkling curiosity. Pleased with their reaction, she straightened and nodded. "My mother and Aunt Natsume were twins, and before them my grandfather, Kagami, was the only child out of five who_ wasn't _a twin."_

 _"You have an aunt?" Masaru asked, at the same time Akari blurted, "You have a_ mom _?" Akari's question elicited startled looks from both her family members, Masaru looking confused and Ryoko just staring at her in mild shock. After a moment the adult regained her composure and laughed lightly._

 _"Yes, Akari-chan, I had a mother," she confirmed with a teasing smile, laughing more when Akari pouted and shrunk back in embarrassment. Ryoko turned back to the sink to resume scrubbing the dishes, her smile fading slightly as she continued. "She died when I was young, well before you two were born. I was never very close to her, I'm afraid. Aunt Natsume was the one who told me about their dreams. They used to dream about each other's days, just like you two."_

 _Masaru listened with rapt attention, leaning forward. Their mother never spoke of her family, and in the small bubble their family lived in he had never thought about the lack of grandparents or other close relatives. His mind flitted back to the graves of Uncle Obito and their father, providing a reasonable explanation for their absence that left him quiet and somber._

 _A glance at Akari told him she'd reached a similar conclusion, but the gleam of curiosity in her eye couldn't be snuffed by just that. "What kind of dreams did they have?" she asked, leaning forward. "Did they feel pain too?" Their mother hummed, back still to them as she poured soap over another dish._

 _"Oh, it was probably the same as you two. They'd see memories from each other's days, and sometimes they could sense if the other got hurt." At this point Ryoko paused, her hands stilling briefly. "Well... There was one story though. Aunt Natsume said that my mother got captured on a mission, but no one else knew. She could tell because she could feel my mother's pain and dreamed about her, she even knew where it was. So Aunt Natsume ended up sneaking away from her own team to go find her."_

 _Two pairs of sparkling eyes bore into her back, both five-year-olds leaning forward expectantly. "Did she save her?" Masaru asked breathlessly, and Ryoko glanced back at them with a bright smile._

 _"Of course," she confirmed cheerfully. "If she didn't, I wouldn't be here now." She offered a small shrug as she rinsed off the plate, adding, "You're a bit young for me to tell you all the details. That said, they had a special bond. Years later, Aunt Natsume even sensed when my mother died." Stacking the plate onto the counter, she turned to them with a softer, more gentle smile. "You two have such a wonderful connection, just as strong as theirs, and their aunts and uncles before them. I envy you two, you know._

 _"As long as you have that connection, you'll never be alone."_

* * *

Masaru stared at Kiba silently once more as he awaited his answer, watching impassively as the boy grew even more rigid at his query. "I..." Kiba trailed off, gulping yet again. "I... That's..."

He couldn't finish the sentence, shuddering too much under Masaru's gaze. Those eyes held no malice, no anger or loathing like he'd expect with such a hostile atmosphere. They showed no emotion, nothing he could read at least, and he had to wonder if that just made it worse. Not for the first time he thought back to how Masaru behaved in spars.

Mentally, he found himself reviewing his odds if Masaru were to suddenly attack. While Kiba and Akamaru had the numbers advantage, they tended to match pretty evenly during spars. What made him wary was that during spars they held strictly to certain rules to hold back—and more importantly, he hadn't been keeping up with Masaru since the invasion. If Masaru had been training during that time, and if he could keep Foxfire longer now—

Kiba's thoughts suddenly broke off as he realized just _what_ he was thinking, sucking in a sharp breath. "Shit," he breathed out shakily, and Masaru blinked.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, perfectly polite and placid, and Kiba shot him a dark look.

" _Everything,_ " he grit out, his voice more gravely than he'd expected. Just now, he'd been looking at Masaru as a _threat_. They were supposed to be _allies_ — _friends_ , even—he shouldn't be thinking like that. Yet Akamaru had begun growling again, and Masaru still had that unsettlingly _empty_ look on his face that made his hair stand on end. They shouldn't be enemies, but right now Masaru gave him _distinctly_ enemy-type vibes.

Naturally Masaru remained silent as Kiba seemed to get consumed by his thoughts, perfectly patient and willing to let the boy organize it. As it stood neither of them had any plans for the day, beyond a vague knowledge Masaru should go back to the Haruno household after their "team bonding" time ended. With the upheaval after Hinata's departure things would be quite chaotic among the upper echelons, and he'd been reasonably certain no one had followed them.

No one would think much if a couple of genin and a ninken disappeared for a few hours. It would get a bit trickier if only _one_ of them went back though, but if it came down to that, Masaru could work with it. He wouldn't like it and he'd probably want to vomit once all was said and done, but he'd do it anyway.

Right now, Kiba was not his friend. Kiba was a threat, pure and simple. And threats either needed to be eliminated, or else silenced—peacefully, if possible.

Kiba's gaze flickered towards his partner behind Masaru, staring at Akamaru for a moment as if silently communicating with their eyes. His mouth formed a thin line as he turned back to the Uchiha boy, seeming to reach a decision. He finally rose from the floor to his full height, no longer looking up at Masaru like a submissive puppy but instead meeting his gaze levelly as an equal.

"Akari smelled like citrus," he repeated, more firmly this time. "She always used the same stuff."

Masaru blinked once, inclining his head to the side. "And?" he pressed, and Kiba's fists tightened at his side.

"Back during the invasion," he started lowly. "When we were looking for Hinata. I _know_ I smelled it—that exact _same_ citrus." He scowled, nose wrinkling at the memory of citrus intermingling with Hinata's lilac and lavender somewhere beneath the thick stench of blood and death, and stared Masaru straight in the eye.

"Akari's alive, isn't she?"

Kiba's words rang through the twins' childhood bedroom, leaving heavy silence in its place as even Akamaru fell quiet at the stunning implications. For a long time, Masaru didn't respond, just continued to meet Kiba's anxious stare with a flat one of his own. Finally, he exhaled and dipped his head forward, his mouth twisting into a mocking smile as he looked at Kiba with callous red eyes.

"Congratulations," he drawled, offering a sarcastic clap that matched his condescending gaze. "You managed to figure out the secret not even the Hokage knows. And now you need to convince me it will stay that way, or I'll have to kill you."


	63. Chapter 60: Echoes of Akari (IV)

**Thanks for all the reviews last time! Glad to see everyone's so surprised by the twist at the end. I've been waiting 51 chapters for that twist, and the reactions are wonderful. Some of you are definitely piecing together the other related puzzles, reading everyone's speculations is so energizing and motivating. That said:**

 _ **Echoes of Light will be going on hiatus until August.**_

 **My family is going on vacation next week, and I won't have time to edit/post while we're gone. Beyond that, the next few chapters are going to be VERY important so I need time to write them carefully. We're heading to the end of Part 1.  
**

* * *

Chapter 60

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there was a shy little girl with a gentle soul and all the pressure in the world weighing on her shoulders._

* * *

 _"Akari-chan, I-I'm sorry..." Hinata's shoulders shook as tears pricked her eyes, her hands wringing the hem of her shirt. "F-father, the elders—th-they, they said—"_

 _"Forget what they said, Hinata!" Akari cut in, and Hinata physically recoiled in shock, taking a step back as if she'd been slapped._

 _"A-Akari-ch-chan?" she stuttered._

 _"What good have your clan elders ever done for you?" Akari snapped. "They're just putting all this pressure on you and not letting you decide anything for yourself!"_

 _"B-but, th-that's... Th-they're adults, a-and... a-and..."_

 _"Because they're adults, they know better than you?" Akari sniped bitterly. "Is_ that _it? That's just garbage and you know it! I mean, do you really think it's bad being friends with_ me _!?" Her vision blurred as she shouted, Hinata's stunned face growing foggy and indistinct through the haze of tears clouding her eyes._

 _"A-Akari-chan, th-that's not—"_

 _"I need to go," Akari cut in, her voice thick and wet. "I'm sorry. Goodbye, Hinata."_

 _With that, she turned and ran, leaving Hinata alone in the middle of the forest._

* * *

Hinata's earliest clear memory was waking up in her father's arms as he stood over the corpse of a man dressed in black.

At the time she didn't understand the significance of the moment. She had only just turned three that day, and her still-developing brain couldn't process the full implications of the scene. Truth be told, she could barely remember anything else from that year, let alone the days that followed. She couldn't remember the sadness after her uncle died, she couldn't remember the tension at the threat of a looming war—she didn't even realize she had nearly been kidnapped by the man in black until someone explained it to her years later.

The only reason that moment remained so clear was because it had been the first time Hinata had ever seen death up close, and she knew instinctively that her father had been responsible.

That day would set the tone for the rest of her life. Something changed in the Hyuuga household that day, everyone became sterner and stricter. Though she could not remember the times before then, she still felt a strange sense of loss. Neji-nii—who she vaguely recalled thinking to be kind and fun to play with—became cold and distant with her, and she distinctly remembered wondering why her training had increased so much even if she couldn't remember how it was before.

In a way, she supposed their reaction was natural. She had nearly been kidnapped, and as the eldest child of the Main House she would always be a valuable target. They wanted her to be strong in order to defend herself, even if she would likely never directly enter the front lines as a kunoichi.

Hinata understood. Really, she did.

But that didn't make the pressure any easier.

Every time she trained with her father she could feel dozens of eyes watching her, looking for the tiniest imperfection. The close attention made her nervous and clumsy, increasing her likelihood of making mistakes. And when she did inevitably make one, whether due to her nerves or simply inexperience, she could feel everyone's disapproval intensify, only making her chest feel tighter.

Her naturally shy demeanor didn't help either. When other people visited the compound she would be too shy to speak to them, resulting in harsh scolding for her "rude behavior" once they left. Meanwhile, the Hyuuga clan's distinctive white eyes made her an easy target for bullying, civilian children often mocking her or calling her creepy when she tried to play with them the few times she left the compound. One of the few positive encounters she'd had with outsiders had been a boy with hair as bright as the sun defending her from bullies, but even then she couldn't bring herself to approach him again.

By the time she started at the academy her confidence had already hit a deep low, leaving her too anxious to approach any other students, not even the boy who had once defended her. All she could do was watch from afar as her classmates mingled and developed their own friendships and inner circles, always feeling like an outsider.

Back then, Hinata had already consigned herself to a lifetime of loneliness. She understood she'd always be on the outside, or at least she felt that way. In the end though, fate had other plans for her.

* * *

 _"Come on, Hinata! Just a little farther!"_

 _Akari waved at her eagerly as she ran ahead, the smaller Hyuuga heiress panting with exhaustion as she followed the other girl down the busy streets. Her stomach churned with anxiety as people glanced at them, trying not to pay them too much mind and just silently thankful none of the peering eyes were stark, featureless white._

 _Uchiha Akari was Hinata's polar opposite in every way possible. Brash and confident, naturally talented and smart—Akari really was everything Hinata was not. Even now, the brown-haired girl showed none of Hinata's exhaustion as she skipped up the steps to Konoha's public library— literally hopping up them one at a time—before turning to wave at her. "Hurry, before all the good books get taken!" she yelled. "I don't want to get a bad grade!"_

 _Hinata winced and nodded, forcing herself to move a bit faster lest she upset her classmate. The only reason they were talking at all was because the teacher had assigned them as partners on a history assignment. Her stomach had sank when their names been called. The Uchiha girl seemed to dislike most of their female classmates—a sentiment which seemed perfectly mutual—and given her own shy, timid disposition, Hinata felt sure Akari would dislike her too._

 _'Just for this assignment,' she told herself as she followed the other girl into the library. She just had to put up with this for a little while._

 _But two days after the assignment ended, they spoke again._

 _"Are... Are those cinnamon rolls?"_

 _Akari stared at Hinata's lunch with large eyes, her head slowly tilting as she stared at the sweets. Blinking, Hinata looked between the fluffy dessert and Akari's intense stare before nodding meekly, scooting a couple inches away._

 _"Ah, y-yes," she murmured, looking away embarrassedly. "I-I know they're b-bad for you, b-but my mother packed them because I, um, g-got a good grade on the test..." She could feel her cheeks redden as Akari scooted closer, the shy girl lowering her head a bit more to avoid seeing the judging look on the other girl's face._

 _Cinnamon rolls weren't nutritious or even very filling, in fact they were pretty much the opposite, but Hinata loved them all the same. Her mother had been wise to bribe her with them in exchange for studying hard, but now that she was actually looking at them in her lunchbox, Hinata felt embarrassed. The other girls would make fun of her for sure if they saw it, and she doubted the teacher would approve either._

 _"Are... are those homemade?" the other girl whispered, and Hinata winced before giving a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, ready to curl in on herself. Why did Akari have to approach her today of all days? She felt so childish and embarrassed, and—_

 _Her thoughts stopped as Akari suddenly grabbed her shoulders, causing her head to snap up reflexively to find Akari staring her straight in the eye. Her breath caught at the serious look on the other girl's face, her black eyes seeming to bore into her with an intensity that rivaled the Byakugan. "Hinata."_

 _"Y-yes?" she breathed, ready to wince._

 _"If you split that with me, I will do anything you ask," Akari informed her, perfectly serious, and it took approximately five seconds for her words to register._

 _"I... Um, w-what?"_

 _"Share them with me, please!" Akari burst, releasing her grip and throwing her hands up. "My mom makes us the most boring and 'nutritious' bento every day! Today she put in sashimi!_ Sashimi _, Hinata! I hate sashimi! I want something sweet for once! Just name your price, I'll do anything! I know! I'll take over your cleaning duties for a week!"_

 _"Um..." Hinata just stared at her, and Akari jumped to her feet._

 _"That's not enough? Okay, then—then I'll lend you my favorite book! It's got all these fairy tales from a place called Uzushio and it's super-cool, I promise!"_

 _"A-ano..."_

 _"No, you're right, you can't know if you'll like it if you've never seen it. Okay, instead, I'll do your homework—wait, that would be cheating... Okay, I'll_ help _you with your homework! Anything you're struggling with! And—_ cinnamon _!"_

 _Akari cut off mid-ramble with a loud cheer when Hinata thrust her lunch at her in a desperate effort to end the mind-blowing jumble of words tumbling out of her mouth. In the end, the only reason Hinata got to eat any of her reward was because Akari made sure to cut the roll in half so she could have some too._

 _Hinata was still surprised when Akari sat next to her the next day with a textbook asking her what homework she needed help with. That conversation ended up being even more confusing and overwhelming than the previous day for both of them._

* * *

It happened the day after the invasion.

She hadn't spent that night at home. Kiba had taken her back to the Inuzuka compound, reasoning that if she went home she'd just run into "that Neji bastard" and then she'd just be even worse off than before. His mother had sent word to the Hyuuga clan about her stay and they'd received no objections, so it had only been early in the morning that she finally returned to her family's compound, the guards offering no words as she slipped through the gates.

Hinata had been reluctant to go home, knowing her cowardly actions the previous day would elicit strict discipline and scolding. Avoiding it would have only made it worse though, so with a heavy heart she headed for her father's study to receive the well-deserved scolding. She had been bracing herself to knock on the door when she heard Elder Fumito speak inside.

 _"Your daughter is a disgrace to our family name._ _Not only did she flee before her match, but she did so in front of dignitaries from nearly every country."_

His words had caused her breath to catch in her throat, freezing in place as she stared at the door. Beyond the painfully thin rice paper walls she could hear the ensuing conversation all too clearly, her father's voice joining with those of all the clan elders.

" _If she hadn't fled, she would have been caught up in brunt of the invasion._ " Her father spoke second, his voice smooth and stoic as ever as he countered Fumito's point.

Next came Elder Nobuko. " _The Hyuuga clan is fortunate that the invasion occurred in time to mask her cowardice from the public! It does not matter if her status as heiress has been revoked. She is still a member of the Main House, and her actions reflect upon all of us. If it were to become public knowledge that she was intimidated by a genin from the Branch house—_ "

Her father interrupted her. " _Neji may be a member of the Branch House, but he's also one of the most talented geniuses to come from our clan in several generations. I doubt even I would have been able to match his skill at that age. Expecting Hinata to do so is wholly unfair and unreasonable._ "

Elder Fumito spoke again, cold and apathetic. " _The difference in their skills doesn't matter. What matters is that she fled after he fought. That alone would have brought unspeakable shame and doubt to the Main House's reputation._ "

Then a fourth voice joined the fray, one which sent an unbearable chill down her spine. Elder Kyotoki was the oldest of the elders, one of the few who still remembered the Warring States Era. If he said something, the others treated it as law, and his words proved just as ominous as she feared. " _We have allowed her slacking to go unpunished long enough. It is time for us to take action and do what we should have long ago._ "

Those had been the last words Hinata had heard before she'd turned and fled, words which would follow her into her dreams.

Somehow her steps made no sound as she darted down the hall for her room, no one stepping into her path to notice the look of panic on her face. Once inside she slid the door shut and crumpled to the floor, clutching at her chest as her breaths came out in ragged gasps. The dark tones of Elder Kyotoki had been the final nail for Hinata's frayed nerves.

Though she hadn't heard the rest, she knew what he intended: to have her sealed, sent to the Branch House for the rest of her life. Just thinking about it made her stomach twist, made it impossible for her to breathe. All she could imagine was Neji's hateful gaze, looking on her with nothing but scorn. Blinking away tears, she looked up at her room, trying to control her breathing to anchor and calm herself. As her panic slowly faded, one thought dominated her mind: _she couldn't stay here_.

Mind settled, Hinata rose and began packing almost mechanically, grabbing the barest necessities and shoving them into a bag. Passing her nightstand, she paused as a photo caught her eye, and after a moment's hesitation she grabbed the frame and slipped it into the bag before leaving.

An hour later she stood in Shino's house, too intimidated to return to the rowdy Inuzuka compound. His father took in the bag and her stricken expression, and then sent his adopted son to prepare the guest room.

* * *

 _"You like him, don't you?"_

 _Hinata started when Akari's voice sounded behind her, jumping with a startled squeak and slapping her hands over her mouth as she spun around. Her face turned bright red as she saw the other girl looking at her with a smug smirk, no doubt feeling quite superior after catching the shy girl hiding behind a tree to watch Naruto train in the academy's training fields. Even now she could hear the blond yell in frustration as his kunai missed the target again, but his voice fell to the back of her mind, the girl in front of her taking precedence._

 _She swallowed harshly, lowering her hands and averting her gaze. "I-I," she stuttered, her mouth dry. "I-it's n-n-not... Not, u-um..." She winced when she heard Akari snort, her face turning even more red._

 _"You don't need to make excuses," she said. "You spy on him almost every day, it's super-obvious_ someone _has a crush." Akari's voice took on a teasing lilt, making Hinata squeak again and duck her head lower._

 _"I-I'm sorry!" she blurted, dropping her torso into a bow. She missed seeing Akari abruptly jolt in alarm, confusion marring her features._

 _"Wha—h-hey, don't apologize! What are you even apologizing for!?"_

 _"B-because I_ do _like him!" Hinata cried, dipping over even further. "A-and you don't like girls who like boys! I'm s-sorry!"_

 _"I—what? No, that's not it at all!" Akari's voice rose in panic as Hinata started trembling, waving her hands frantically. "I don't like girls who let crushes get in the way of their training! But you're different!" Hinata sniffled, standing up straight to shoot the other girl a confused look._

 _"I... I am?" she asked hesitantly, still feeling a bit teary-eyed. Akari quickly bobbed her head, her panicked expression becoming serious._

 _"Yeah! You're not fawning over him constantly like the other girls fawn over Sasuke. You're trying to be more_ like _him, right?" The accuracy in the girl's words caught Hinata off-guard, her eyes widening in surprise. Seeming satisfied by her reaction, Akari nodded to herself and continued, "That's totally different. That's how crushes_ should _work, they should make you want to get_ better _, not_ prettier _. That boy's way luckier than he knows. You're going to be a great kunoichi someday, everyone'll be fighting over you."_

 _As Akari spoke Hinata could feel her nerves settle, quietly rubbing her eyes. She had been apprehensive about how Akari would react to her crush on Naruto—even her family seemed to dislike it—so to hear her_ approve _of it... Hinata hadn't expected that. "Th-thank you," she said, offering a weak smile. The other girl responded with a bright grin of her own, embodying the light which served as her namesake._

* * *

For the next six weeks Hinata threw herself into assisting with reconstruction around the village alongside her team, avoiding her family the whole time. Her teammates became bodyguards for her by unspoken consent, Kiba and Akamaru working out some sort of signal whenever they so much as _scented_ a Hyuuga and leading her away. If they couldn't leave the area Shino would station himself in front of her as a sort of shield, making sure no one would approach.

When they didn't have work, she hid herself in the Aburame compound. The Aburame never once showed annoyance at her extended stay, never questioned her about when she would return home or made her feel unwelcome. Shino's father rarely spoke but he radiated a calm sort of aura that never made her feel unwelcome. Torune tended to be more vocal, often the one to fetch her in the mornings for breakfast and politely inquiring about her day with what appeared to be genuine interest.

Slowly, she felt her frayed nerves mend themselves and her fear lessen. Each day Hinata felt herself grow stronger, braver and more confident than the day before. She still lived in fear of encountering one of her relatives, but the fear no longer completely consumed her and left her paralyzed. She began leaving on her own more often, only for short periods of time and never straying too far. One day, when her hosts ran out of a certain cleaning product needed for their hives, she volunteered to fetch it to show her gratitude for their kindness in allowing her to stay.

That had been when her luck finally reached an end, and Elder Fumito cornered her on a lonely street.

"Your behavior has been absolutely disgraceful," he'd told her coldly. "Just yesterday the Yamanaka heiress came asking for you! Do you realize how utterly shameful it is to admit that our supposed heiress has not set foot in the compound in more than three weeks despite being in the village the entire time?"

"I-I-I... I-I-I..." Her voice had wavered, her nervous stutter returning with a vengeance under his harsh, judging glare. A single sob slipped out, and she sucked in a squeaky breath as she continued, "I-I'm s-s-sorry. P-p-please, I-I'm n-not t-trying to—t-to—"

"Enough," the old man cut in icily. "Your stutter is just further evidence of my point. You are a disgrace to the Main House. It has been over a month, we have let your little 'episode' last long enough. It is time for you to return home so we can deal with your behavior— _properly_."

At that point he'd silenced himself as Masaru strode into sight, his appearance making her jump in surprise and horror at being witnessed. The boy paid her no mind, his gaze focused purely on Fumito as he walked past them silently. Watching him depart made something sink inside her stomach, his cool glare reminding her of someone else she once knew.

Fumito huffed quietly, drawing her attention back to him. "I expect you to be back at the compound tomorrow night by sundown," he told her coldly. "If you arrive even a second past that, I guarantee you will suffer _much_ worse than merely being sealed."

And at that moment, as she watched him turn and stalk away, Hinata felt her whole world begin to crack.

* * *

 _"Here, my mom showed me how to make it."_

 _Six-year-old Hinata's cheeks flushed as she stared at the long braided strand, her eyes wide with surprise. Raising her head, she found Akari looking at her with a smile, the other girl's face radiating a quiet confidence that the young Hyuuga heiress desired oh so much. "I-I," she stuttered, but the other girl shook her head, grabbing one of her wrists when Hinata nervously poked her fingers together and lifting her hand in the air._

 _"Don't you dare try to refuse, Nata," Akari scolded, using the strange nickname she'd come up with. Slipping the bracelet around Hinata's slender wrist, she wrapped it around three times before tying the ends together, nodding with a pleased smile. "See? It looks good! And it's long so you can keep wearing it even when you get bigger!"_

 _Still surprised, Hinata's face grew even redder and she swiftly retracted her wrist, cradling it against her chest. The bracelet felt soft, the weight light and feeling almost natural, as if it belonged there. "I... I didn't get you anything though."_

 _"You don't have to," Akari huffed, pouting at her childishly. "Silly Nata-chan, don't you get it? This is the last chance to get you a birthday gift!"_

 _"O-oh, I... I see." Hinata nodded slowly, staring at the bracelet in shock. Today marked the last day of classes before winter break, and classes wouldn't resume until after her birthday passed. The fact Akari remembered her birthday at all stunned her, she had only mentioned it once. Then again, the fact that Akari spoke to her at all_ still _surprised her._

 _That one fateful assignment had somehow led to something more. At some point she started arriving at the academy almost every day to find Akari waiting for her at their shared table, a bright smile on her face. They shared their lunches together more often than not, trading disliked foods with each other, and spent their free time helping each other with homework when they struggled._

 _Not once did she look down on Hinata or scold her for being weak. She sometimes nagged Hinata about how timid she acted, but it had a more playful and friendly ring to it than genuinely annoyed like the adults. And now, to give her a bracelet... After resigning herself to an academy career full of loneliness, this was more than Hinata had ever dared to hope for._

 _"I... Th-thank you," she murmured, dropping her torso in a polite bow._

 _"If you want to thank me, then you can make me one too!" Akari chirped cheerfully, and Hinata snapped her head up with a startled squeak._

 _"Wh-what? B-but, I don't know how—"_

 _"I'll teach you," Akari interrupted, smiling at her. "This will be a symbol of our friendship, okay?" Hinata's eyes widened, stunned, but she swallowed down the reflexive urge to repeat '_ Friendship? _' and instead nodded._

 _"O-okay," she replied, her lips curling into a small, hesitant smile of her own. "That... That sounds like fun. Right?"_

 _"Right!" Akari clapped, a giant grin on her face. "This will be the sign of our promise! We'll become the best kunoichi in the world, and stay together every step of the way!"_

 _Akari beamed at her and the hesitancy left Hinata, her smile growing more genuine as her chest grew warm. After all, when she thought about it, they spoke to each other every day at the academy. They helped each other with classwork, they told jokes, they encouraged each other..._

 _They were friends, right?_

* * *

 _"Hinata, it has come to our attention you have formed a friendship with an Uchiha girl, Uchiha Akari. Is that correct?"_

 _The seven-year-old heiress sat in perfect seiza, her head bowed and her heart racing. The elders of the Main Household sat before her with straight and perfect postures, all of them feeling so giant and imposing to the tiny girl. "Yes, sir," she murmured, not daring to look at them. She could feel their gazes grow sharper, their scrutiny intensifying tenfold._

 _"That is unacceptable," Elder Nobuko declared, making Hinata wince. "You, as the eldest daughter of the Main House, represent the Hyuuga as a whole. You cannot associate with someone so deplorable." Her cold words made Hinata freeze, so stunned her head immediately raised to stare at the old crone._

 _"What? But Akari-chan's not bad! She's nice and encouraging and never acts mean!" '_ She's my best friend,' _she wanted to say, but the words died in her throat as she saw the apathetic looks on the elders' faces._

 _"The Hyuuga and Uchiha clans have a long standing rivalry dating to before the village's founding," Elder Kyotoki declared. "What's more, Uchiha Akari is the daughter of Uchiha Ryoko, whose retirement and career has caused great shame. Having our heiress consorting with her daughter will only cause harm to our clan's reputation. Do you wish to dishonor us?"_

 _Hinata faltered, too stunned to speak. Why? Why would talking to Akari be so bad? Why did her mother have anything to do with Akari? She couldn't find words, just stared at them wide-eyed. Next to her she heard her father clear his throat, answering in her stead._

 _"I shall personally see to the end of their relationship," Hiashi promised, and at that point Hinata knew that her friendship was over._

* * *

" _I expect you to be back at the compound tomorrow night by sundown._ "

Hinata felt numb.

After a night of restless attempts to sleep Hinata woke up a final time just before dawn with a large knot already present in her stomach. She went through her morning routine mechanically, stepping into the bathroom to wash herself before dressing for the day. She stared at her reflection in the bedroom mirror in silence, blankly registering the dark bruising under her eyes from a bad night's sleep.

Elder Fumito's harsh words from the previous day rang through her head on loop, a constant refrain of coldness and apathy. Each time his lecture repeated she felt her heart twinge, her teeth digging into her lip a bit deeper and her stomach coiling just a bit tighter. Yet more than that, she felt hollow and empty, her emotions almost exhausted.

" _If you arrive even a second past that, I guarantee you will suffer much worse than merely being sealed._ "

Those were the words that made her finally break, her face crumbling as she clutched her stomach with a noiseless sob. Tears slid down her cheeks as she fell to the floor and silently cried, fear consuming her and leaving her almost paralyzed.

 _I can't... I can't go back! I can't be sealed!_

Neji's hateful eyes flashed in her mind, years of harsh whispers and cold stares at the hands of her family washing over her. When she received the Caged Bird Seal, it would validate every one of those horrid whispers about her being unsuited. It would confirm, once and for all, that she was a failure, a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan in every shape and form possible.

And _she couldn't do that_.

She couldn't handle the thought of returning to the compound with all those featureless white eyes watching her, fully aware what hid beneath her bangs and bandages. She couldn't handle those scornful whispers she would inevitably hear, the disdain she'd experienced her whole life amplified as their beliefs appeared to be validated.

Her fingers instinctively scrabbled for her wrist only to brush against bare skin, the sensation making her freeze and snap back to alertness. _The bracelet... Where was it?_ Panic rose in her as she swiveled her head around in search for it before finally spying the braided bracelet on the nightstand. Relief swelled as she practically dove for it, snatching it up with an eager fervor. She squeezed it fondly but paused, her eyes lingering on the framed photograph sitting next to it.

It was a simple picture, just her and Akari sitting in a photo booth with Akari making a face at the camera while Hinata giggled. It had been taken just a week before the elders forced her to end their friendship, on a day when the academy unexpectedly released early. It was the only photo Hinata had of herself together with her friend, and whenever she looked at it she felt an overwhelming surge of fondness and grief.

Hinata felt something thick and heavy catch in her throat, gulping harshly as she turned to face it fully.

Once, when they'd been young, Akari had promised her she'd be with her every step of the way, watching Hinata grow and develop into the great and powerful kunoichi she was destined to be.

"I'm not great," she whispered to the photo, her fingers clenching around the bracelet. "I'm not powerful, I'm weak and stupid and useless. I couldn't even stand up to the elders to defend you. Y-you were right, to be m-mad at me back then, a-and I... I-I..." Tears started to well in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away, pushing down the urge to cry as she shook her head.

Sucking in a deep breath, she looked at the photo and willed her determination to return, her eyes burning with resolve. "I'm not strong, but... I want to get better," she said quietly. "I-I know what I have to do, a-and it scares me, b-but... But I'll try to do my best, so please just wait a little longer!" She bowed to the photo, and then tied the bracelet around her wrist before turning to pack her meager belongings.

The last thing she grabbed was a small pouch made of lavender fabric and attached to a string, the kanji for " _courage_ " embroidered onto a white tag. Hinata draped the string around her neck and stuffed the pouch into her shirt, turning to leave the room as empty as the day she first arrived.

* * *

 _One day, her father called her into his study._

 _She sat in perfect seiza like she'd been taught, mindful of her posture. He just looked at her with heavy eyes, his face grimmer than she'd ever seen before, and she couldn't help the curl of anxiety that formed in her stomach. Had she done something wrong? Had her grades fallen? Or was there an issue with her form during training?_

 _A million possibilities ran through her mind, each worse than the last, but she never could have expected the words her father actually said._

 _"Hinata, last night the Uchiha clan suffered a near-total massacre." Pausing, he looked at her for a long moment before sighing and continuing quietly, "Uchiha Akari was among the casualties. I'm sorry."_

 _Hinata stared at her father blankly, his words sinking in slowly. A massacre. The Uchiha clan. Akari was dead. Akari was dead._ Akari was dead _._

 _Hinata opened her mouth, and she_ screamed _._

* * *

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I love you. Goodbye."

The words tasted like ash on her tongue as she spoke, her palm striking Naruto in the chest as her mouth forced itself into a tiny smile. Her chest ached as she watched the boy she loved more than anything else fall backwards, the sparks of consciousness faded from his bright blue eyes by her own doing. She couldn't watch him hit the ground, she spun and ran away even as he fell, tears pricking her eyes as she tried to hold back her desperate sobs.

As she raced through the empty streets of Konoha the world seemed to blur, her heart at war with itself over the knowledge of what she was planning to do—what she already _had_ done. The moment she knocked out Naruto, there had been no going back anymore. The storage scroll in the pouch on her hip felt heavy, the pouch tucked into her shirt bouncing against her chest with each step.

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, please forgive me!_

She held so much remorse and regret, yet she knew nothing could make her stop now. Just imagining the tall gates leading to the Hyuuga compound, Hinata could feel the pressure crushing her bit by bit, her body ready to shatter into a million jagged pieces that would then implode and curl together into a jagged mess of sharp pointed ends while she screamed in agony and despair.

That pressure had been weighing upon her for so long, longer than the invasion, longer than the Chuunin Exams, longer than she could even remember. Hinata wasn't strong like Akari or Naruto, she had never been brave despite the kanji on the pouch Ryoko made for her. Hinata was weak, pure and simple, a timid soul thrust into a situation that would be harsh even on the strongest souls, and she _just couldn't stand it anymore._

All she could do now was try to make things right.

"Hinata?"

A familiar voice made her freeze and she slid to a halt, her throat constricting tightly with dread as she spun around. She swallowed harshly, her fingers once more unconsciously reaching for the bracelet. It had started to fray from how much she'd been fiddling with it, thin pieces of thread starting to unravel from the strands beneath her fingers.

"M-Masaru," she whispered, her face pale as she stared at the twin of the girl she had once called her best friend. His black eyes remained unreadable in the dim evening light, his whole form shrouded in the shadows and darkness of night.

"Where are you going?" he asked, and she swallowed, taking a step back.

"I-I... U-um..." Masaru inclined his head as he regarded her, his face still impossible to read. His head half-turned to look over his shoulder briefly.

"Naruto's unconscious on the ground over there," he commented almost casually, and her blood turned to ice. _He knows._ She could sense it in her gut, with more certainty than anything she'd ever felt before. She didn't know how she knew, or even what exactly he knew, but she could just tell he knew she'd been the one to knock him out.

Hinata swallowed harsher than before, trembling lightly as she stared at him. "I need to go," she forced out, her hands balling into fists at her side. "I-I need... I c-can't..." Masaru turned back to her, blinking slowly before nodding.

"I know," he said simply. "I figured that would happen, after what she said to you." Hinata stiffened once more, her eyes widening.

"What... she said to me?" she repeated slowly, and he shrugged.

"How did she put it...? ' _What good have your clan elders ever done for you?_ ' _'They're just putting all this pressure on you and not letting you decide anything for yourself_?'"

Hinata froze at his words, her face draining of all color as numbness washed over her. "How...?" She trailed off, her voice barely more than a whisper, and Masaru paused before smiling cryptically.

"Don't worry about Naruto," he said, ignoring her unspoken question. "I'll still be here to take care of him. Just take this for me." As he spoke he pulled out an envelope and tossed it to her, Hinata fumbling to catch it. Even as she turned it over in her hands he dipped his head at her and raised a hand in farewell, adding, "Goodbye, Hinata. Tell them I'll see them around."

With that he turned and walked away, leaving a dumbstruck Hinata holding the envelope. After a long moment that felt like an eternity, she finally turned and broke into a run, fleeing before anyone could see her. Veins bulged around her eyes as she wove through the empty streets, darting for the forest with a desperate fervor. She burst into the clearing and staggered to a halt, nearly doubling over as she gasped for breath.

Pulling the pouch out from inside her shirt, she quickly loosened the drawstring and dumped a small slip of paper into her palm with a seal drawn on it. Her fist crumpled around it as she pumped chakra into it, her shoulders shaking the entire time.

Almost immediately she felt a displacement of air behind her, sending a chill down her back, and she turned to find a man in a red mask.

"You ready to go?" he asked, tilting his head, and she exhaled a shaky breath as she nodded.

"Y-yes," she whispered. He extended a gloved hand and she took it with only a moment of hesitation, and then the world swirled around them.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"_

 _Hinata sobbed in the bathroom stall as she buried her face in her arms, tears threatening to flow at any moment. In the end, the pressure had been too much. After making it to the finals by a fluke, she'd been unable to bring herself to fight Naruto. Her opponent's sickening scream from the preliminaries looped in her head, that sickening crack of bone shattering filling her with nausea. Worst than that, though, she could imagine her clan's reactions, their disdain finally validated by this act of cowardice on such a public stage._

 _Years of pressure had finally broken her down, leaving Hinata barely more than an empty shell._

 _"Hey, are you okay?"_

 _Hinata squealed in surprise and jumped almost a foot in the air, spinning to stare at the stall door in shock. A brown-haired girl peered through the open crack with a worried expression, her dark eyes glittering with worry. "Sorry, but, I thought I heard crying and you look kinda upset?"_

 _Too stunned to reply, Hinata stumbled back and folded her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. "I'm f-fine," she forced out, and a long moment of silence passed between them._

 _"You don't sound fine?" It sounded like a question, and Hinata winced before averting her gaze. All she could think about was how_ disgusted _her family would be that she'd lost her composure in front of a stranger, the final cherry on top to her shameful behavior that day._

 _She barely had time to imagine their reactions when another head appeared in the doorway, this one much more familiar. "Onee-san?" Hanabi questioned, and she stepped back with a startled squeak, her face draining of color._

 _"H-Hanabi? W-what—"_

 _"I was going to the concession stand and saw you run in here. Why are you so upset?" Hinata couldn't respond, only able to stare at her sister in muted horror._

 _"Ah, I should, uh, probably go," the other girl murmured awkwardly, and quickly retreated from the scene. Hinata barely noticed, too focused on Hanabi's presence and the fact she'd shown her weakness in front of her._

 _"I-I'm sorry," she whispered, averting her gaze even as her younger sister regarded her with a worried frown._

 _"Onee-san, why are you so upset? Did something happen?"_

 _"I-I... Th-that is..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Her gaze flickered to the braided bracelet on her wrist, instinctively drawn to the fond memories it held, Akari's dark eyes and warm smile which glittered with so much_ light _—_

 _And at that moment Hinata froze, her head snapping up with wide eyes. Without a word she burst out of the stall and darted past a startled Hanabi, flying down the halls with her Byakugan active. Her heart fluttered erratically as she burst out of the arena, her eyes tracing the path of a distant figure only she bothered to see._

 _Chaos erupted around her as she ran, the streets devolving into violent battles as unfamiliar men in masks began descending and wreaking havoc. She nearly screamed as a kunai whizzed past her head, swerving to dodge it, but she never slowed down or changed course. All she could focus on was following the distant figure running ahead of her, ducking through small alleys and side streets to avoid the chaos around them._

 _Their path took them away from the town, away from the battles and death and bloodshed. The buildings gave way to dense forest, the sounds of metal clashing fading into the distant background. Hinata's feet carried her even faster, her heartbeat growing more and more rapid as she drew closer to her quarry. Finally, she could see her target through the trees even without her Byakugan active and she staggered to a halt, her heart catching in her throat._

 _There in the clearing stood the girl from the bathroom, turning to look at her with wide black eyes. Hinata's mouth opened, one word breathlessly slipping out:_

 _"Akari-chan?"_

* * *

Hinata gasped as the world stopped spinning, staggering slightly as she tried to reorient herself. "Sorry, forgot to warn you," she heard the man say distantly, but she barely noticed. Instead her attention was drawn to the heavy weight that suddenly barreled into her, making her fall down with a startled yelp.

"You're here! You're actually here!"

"Geez, are you _always_ this physical?" someone grouched above them, only to get shushed by the man. The person on top of Hinata just laughed, musical and sweet as she pulled away with a grin.

"Nata-chan, I missed you so much!"

Despite the furious red tint dusting her cheeks Hinata couldn't help but smile, returning that beaming grin which embodied light.

"I missed you too, Akari-chan."

* * *

 _Once upon a time, the shy little girl with a gentle soul and all the pressure in the world weighing on her shoulders lost her first friend and saw her world fall apart. Then one day she found the friend again, and for the first time she felt all was right with the world._


	64. Chapter 61: Measures of Ethics

Chapter 61

* * *

" _It's hard to tell what's right and wrong anymore. At this point the only measure I have is, 'Will I regret this?' And even then, that's more of a suggestion than an actual guideline._ "

* * *

 _"You swear not to tell?"_

 _"I promise. I mean, who would even believe me, right?"_

A thoughtful silence hung over Masaru as he walked down the forest path, hands in his pockets and mind a thousand miles away. As the day wore on an early autumn chill had begun to nip at the wind, not too cold but just chilly enough to have him ducking his chin into the upturned collar of his jacket. It did little to protect the back of his neck from the breeze though, a shudder coursing through him as his shorter hair tickled his skin.

 _Maybe I_ should _grow it out again,_ he mused distantly, reaching up to brush a lock away from his eyes. Not enough time had passed for much to grow since his impromptu haircut during the invasion, but he hadn't put much thought into whether he should keep it short or not. Part of him had mourned it at first, but—

 _"Indra's hair," Ryoko mused aloud as she sat before an easel, painting thick strokes on the canvas to form a tangle of unruly locks to frame his face. "You have Indra's hair, Masa-kun."_

 _"Mother has been quite interested in you," Gaara declared blandly as he stood over Masaru in a forest full of corpses. "She says you look like Indra."_

...No, maybe it was for the best he kept it short.

He didn't linger on the thought long, his hand falling back to his pocket as the trees gave way to the familiar sight of the Uchiha clan cemetery. The rows of stones exuded a quiet air of serenity as always, a sense of contentment settling inside him as he walked down the lines of graves until he reached a very familiar one. He stilled as he stood in front of it, a sense of serenity washing over him.

"Hey Uncle Obito," he greeted, a faint smile playing across his lips. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry I don't have anything to clean your grave today, this trip was kind of sudden. I can't stay long. A lot of stuff's happened since the last time I came here." The last time Masaru had visited had been the day before the Chuunin Exams—the day before the invasion. So much had happened in the month since then, his entire world had been turned upside down so many times.

"I actually meant to come yesterday," he mused aloud. "I even bought a bouquet, and you know how much Ino intimidates me. But some stuff happened, and, well... I kinda had to change plans. I have a lot to tell you, but... I'm not actually here for you this time." His smile grew sheepish, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. For half a second he imagined the seal, as if he could feel the ink with his fingertips, but he quickly dismissed that thought. "Sorry about that. It felt wrong to come here without saying hi to you though, so..."

He trailed off, huffing a small snort that wasn't quite a laugh but close to it. "I'll be sure to make it up to you next time, okay?"

With a final nod to the grave he turned and continued to another row, this one far less familiar than the one with Obito's grave but still more than the rest of the cemetery. He knew he probably shouldn't do this right now, that everyone was probably waiting for him back at Sakura's place. But at the same time he'd already delayed this by a day, and after talking to Kiba he felt like waiting any longer would just be... _wrong_.

He walked past the two stones bearing his sister and mother's names without glancing at them, finally stopping at the one next to his mother's. For a moment he just stood there, gazing at the engraved kanji:

 _Uchiha Ryuusuke._

Standing at his father's grave felt strange. Masaru couldn't help but think of the fact that his body rested several feet beneath the soil at this very moment, one of the few graves in the cemetery that _wasn't_ empty. Exhaling softly, he pushed away the discomfort the thought brought and dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"Hi dad," he said, even more softly than when he spoke to Obito. "I met your teacher recently. I didn't know you were a medical ninja, but I guess it makes sense with the stories mom told us. She said you used to take care of her like a little sister when you were kids, and always had a first aid kit ready whenever she got hurt."

His lips quirked upwards as he recalled those yearly visits to their father's grave on his birthday, the one time their mother opened up and shared stories of her lost love. Just as soon as it appeared the smile faded though, and he knelt down on the soil, brushing his thumb over the characters of his father's name and closing his eyes. "I'm sorry I don't visit you more," he murmured quietly, pressing his forehead to the cool stone. "And I'm sorry I never got to know you, either."

Masaru felt the world fade around him, only the cool stone beneath his forehead keeping him connected to reality. In his thirteen years of living, he had never thought of his father much, of the ramifications of his absence. The fact was, his lack of a father seemed inconsequential in the wake of losing everything else during the massacre. His father was a stranger, and he would never be anything more. Maybe if that day never happened, maybe if his mom was still alive, maybe if Akari was still _here_ , and not miles and miles away...

A shuddery breath escaped him, his fingers curling atop his father's name. "...Dad, I told Kiba the truth," he whispered. "About... about everything. Everything I could." There was still so much Masaru didn't _know_ , so many questions he couldn't answer on his own. He didn't even know if he was supposed to know Akari had survived, or if knowing had been part of the plan all along.

 _"You can't tell anyone," Masaru emphasized coolly. "Not Shino, not Kurenai-sensei, not your mom or sister—_ nobody _. You can't even try to look into it on this own. This isn't just about Akari's safety anymore. This is bigger than we can handle."_

 _Across from him Kiba's expression became even more sober, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. Even so his mouth set in a firm line, his fists clenching at his sides as he nodded. "I got it."_

"I'm worried," Masaru admitted quietly in the present, his voice wavering ever so slightly. "I don't know if I made the right choice, telling him. I don't know if it will really be alright." His shoulders shook slightly as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter, pulling his hands away from the grave to dig his palms against them. Stars and colors soon painted the backs of his eyelids, the familiar swirling motions soothing to his frayed nerves.

 _I don't know if Kiba can really keep it secret. I don't know if the Hokage might find out. I don't know if the threat might find out. I don't know what the threat_ is _._

"Dad," he whispered, barely louder than a breath, "please watch over us."

* * *

Konoha had never been a quiet city, but today the noise felt strangely oppressive as Kiba walked down the street. The civilians paid him and Akamaru no mind, just writing him off as another random Inuzuka, but now and then he noticed the shinobi pause and watch them more discreetly. He paid their lingering gazes little mind though, his thoughts too caught up in the past few hours. He hadn't expected the confrontation with Masaru to go that way, but then, nothing had gone according to expectations since today. Not since he woke up and found out Hinata was gone.

Now, that was the least of his worries.

 _"Why does it have to be such a big secret in the first place?" Kiba was more frustrated than anything, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he pressed, "I mean, isn't it a_ good _thing she's alive? Why isn't she in Konoha? Why does everyone have to think she's_ dead _?"_

 _Rather than respond right away Masaru smiled thinly, his gaze almost pitying. "You're smart, aren't you?" he asked. The question took Kiba by surprise, his mouth pulling into a frown._

 _"The hell? Is that a question or an insult?"_

 _"Neither, really. Just pointing out you're not as big of an idiot as everyone thinks." At this point Kiba's mood started to slant more towards offense than confusion, his irritation rearing its ugly head, but before he could say anything Masaru pushed on. "So think for a second: why would two people who have done absolutely nothing criminal feel like they need to hide their deaths from everyone in Konoha—even the Hokage?"_

 _His words threw Kiba for a loop, his expression going slack with shock once more as he processed the implications that Masaru had obviously long since realized:_

 _There's a threat in Konoha._

He stopped in the middle of the street, sucking in a sharp breath as he clenched his fists at his sides. Even now the thought left Kiba feeling numb and sick to his stomach, swallowing harshly as his head ducked down further. He couldn't understand what could possibly constitute such a situation where telling even the _Hokage_ would put people in danger, and frankly, he wasn't certain he wanted to know. Kiba was an Inuzuka. He had been raised his entire life to place loyalty above all else, and the idea that his village might have someone he couldn't trust in high places—he didn't like to think about it.

But even so, he couldn't just write it off. Not after he saw the look in Masaru's eyes, so haunted and _scared_.

Atop his head Akamaru let out a small whimper, dragging Kiba's attention back to the present. He forced himself to exhale and lightly shook his head, keeping the movement minimal to avoid jostling Akamaru too much. "Sorry, buddy," he muttered lowly for only the canine's ears. "Just stressed, you know?"

Akamaru gave a sympathetic whine in response, causing Kiba to crack a feeble, barely-present smile, a mere shadow of the cocky grin he usually sported. At least he wasn't alone in this. Kiba had given Masaru his word to keep silent about it all, to not tell a soul, but he didn't _need_ to tell Akamaru. Akamaru had been there too, had heard all of it alongside him and reached the same conclusions he did. That was the nice thing about being an Inuzuka. As long as their ninken partners still breathed, an Inuzuka would _never_ be truly alone.

In that regard, Kiba figured he could relate to Masaru when it came to Akari. If anything were to threaten Akamaru, he'd be more than willing to murder someone to protect him too. Especially with stakes like Masaru suspected.

Besides, at least he got what he wanted to know.

"Kiba." He stiffened at the familiar voice, his stomach sinking briefly as he turned to see Shino standing not too far behind them. A heavy atmosphere draped over them as they faced each other, the crowds around them seeming to vanish until only the three of them remained.

Kiba's mouth felt dry as he looked at his friend and teammate—his _only_ teammate now. Reading Shino's mood had never been easy with most of his face covered by his sunglasses and collar, but after half a year of working together Kiba could now read him fairly well. Shino was just as sad and anxious as he'd been when he showed up at Kiba's bedroom that morning, hovering in the doorway as his mom woke him up to deliver the news.

 _No,_ Kiba realized with a sinking stomach. Shino's mood had gotten _worse_ since he'd stormed out of the Inuzuka compound later that morning, his mind stuck in a whirlwind of mingling citrus and lavender. Heavy regret and guilt settled in his stomach as he realized he'd all but abandoned Shino, too caught up in his own thoughts and desperate need for confirmation to pay him mind. He felt like he should say something, apologize or—or _something_ —but the words just wouldn't come.

In the end Akamaru broke the silence, offering a small whine. Shino relaxed very slightly at that, nodding at the puppy. "Hello, Akamaru. I suppose I should thank you for keeping Kiba company." The puppy gave a soft yip of affirmation and Kiba's hands briefly clenched, having to force himself not to show his internal frustration at himself on his face. It was so hard when Shino looked so tired and sad. _Smelled_ tired and sad, the constant buzz beneath his skin sounding sluggish and weirdly half-hearted.

Shino turned his attention back to him, and Kiba felt he needed to speak now. "Sorry for running out on you," he muttered. "I just..." He trailed off, not sure what to say. He hadn't even been thinking when he ran off, really. The decision to track down Masaru came _after_ that, he'd just felt like he needed to do _something_ after sitting around waiting for an hour for news.

"You don't have to apologize," Shino said after several seconds passed without Kiba elaborating any further. "Today is very... stressful." He seemed to choose his words carefully, pausing to think before hesitantly adding, "I thought you might run off anyway, to... search for her. I did the same."

A heavy silence fell over them after that, Shino's words hitting Kiba like a dull kunai lodged in his stomach. _Fuck,_ he thought, swallowing harshly as his eyes darted to the side.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't face Shino when he was feeling this bad, this _worried_ , because _why wouldn't he be worried?_ Kiba had spent his entire morning in a panic-fueled haze, constantly wondering about Hinata and whether she was safe or even _alive_. Shino, meanwhile, found out about Hinata going missing _way_ before that. He woke up to ANBU searching Hinata's room at the Aburame compound, and after that he spent an entire hour talking to an ANBU interrogator about Hinata's behavior.

At least Kiba's mom waited for Shino's interrogation to finish before waking up Kiba to break the news. She'd already been out searching, having been summoned in the middle of the night when Hinata's disappearance was first reported, but she'd returned specifically with Shino in tow just so neither of them would have to be alone. Tsume wasn't gentle by any means, but she tried to lessen the blow in her own way before leaving to rejoin the tracking efforts.

That just made the whole situation even more sour in his mouth, Kiba's teeth gritting in frustration. Shino had been just as worried as him—hell, he was probably even _more_ worried, Hinata had been staying with his family after all. The entire Aburame clan probably felt guilty for not noticing she was planning to run away, they weren't nearly as cold and standoffish as they seemed. And as her teammate, Shino probably felt it the worst.

It made Kiba want to _scream_ , to grab Shino's shoulders and tell him _it was okay, Hinata's fine._

But he couldn't. Not without breaking his promise.

But he also couldn't be silent.

"We'll see her again," he said, forcing himself to meet Shino's eyes. "This isn't goodbye. We'll find her and bring her home, someday." His words resonated powerfully through his body, speaking not a desire but a _promise_. He couldn't offer Shino any concrete reassurances, but he could offer him at least this much.

Shino inclined his head, his mood still sad and concerned, but the buzzing of his kikaichu just a little stronger. "We will," he agreed quietly, the promise just as powerful in his own voice. Kiba felt some of the weight lift from his chest, his burden just a little lighter. There was no question of _if_ they would see Hinata again, but _when_. As long as they stayed alive, that day would come where she'd be able to return.

Hinata and Akari _both_.

* * *

 _"Two," Kiba said softly, slowly raising his gaze to look at Masaru. "You said_ two people _just now._ Two people _hiding their deaths. Akari's not the only one?"_

 _For a moment Masaru didn't respond, just looked at him evenly as if to measure his thoughts. "She's not alone," he finally confirmed with a nod. "I can't tell you who it is, because he was supposed to be dead even before the massacre." Kiba's mouth thinned, seeming to hesitate._

 _"And... he won't hurt Hinata?"_

 _This time it was Masaru's turn to look at Kiba in surprise, blinking once and just staring at him. Even Akamaru hadn't seemed to expect that, the canine releasing a small yelp-like sound clearly voicing his confusion. Kiba's expression remained steady as he awaited the response, his eyes steely with determination as he gazed at Masaru expectantly. After several long moments of wide-eyed staring Masaru finally exhaled, his shoulders losing their tension._

 _For the first time since he'd seen the glimmer of knowledge in Kiba's face he relaxed, a kind, gentle smile playing across his lips as his eyes dimmed to their usua black. "He won't," he confirmed with a nod. "He's not a bad guy, and he already told me he won't hurt Akari. And besides," he added, a hint of amusement in his voice, "I don't think Akari would let him do anything. She likes Hinata too, you know."_

 _A good deal of the tension in Kiba's frame dissipated as he sighed, his whole body sagging with relief. "So she really_ did _go with her," he muttered, dragging a hand over his face. "Thank kami. Just... freaking hell, I was starting to think I'd go crazy."_

 _"How'd you figure it out?" Masaru asked curiously, tilting his head. "I mean, Akari was only here during the invasion..."_

 _"Yeah, and Hinata followed her all the way from the stadium to the woods," Kiba responded bluntly. "They must've talked about_ something _out there. I figured maybe she invited Hinata to go with her or something, I dunno." His expression darkened as he muttered, "It's better than her running away or getting kidnapped."_

 _Masaru cracked a small smile at that, but it soon faded, his face serious once more. "You understand this means the stakes are even higher, right? Whatever's going on, Hinata's been pulled into it too, so if anyone finds out where she went the Hyuuga clan is probably the least of her problems. You can't tell anyone," he emphasized coolly. "Not Shino, not Kurenai-sensei, not your mom or sister—_ nobody _. You can't even try to look into it on this own. This isn't just about Akari's safety anymore. This is bigger than we can handle."_

 _Across from him Kiba's expression became even more sober, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. Even so his mouth set in a firm line, his fists clenching at his sides as he nodded. "I got it," he replied just as coolly. "I... I don't like hiding that Hinata's safe from Shino, but—I won't tell anyone." His voice held a firm conviction, ringing with resolve to keep his word._

 _Neither noticed the man listening from the hallway just outside the door, vanishing without so much as a sound as the conversation ended._

oOoOo

A tired sigh escaped his lips as he reappeared inside another empty house not too far from the original one, lifting his red mask to rub and pinch his eyes. "That was too close," he muttered under his breath, already feeling tired and exasperated. Between the death threat, re-confirmation Masaru knew at least _part_ of the truth, and now another person being looped in on the secret, that whole conversation had been a disaster. At least Masaru hadn't shared his identity, but the brat definitely knew who he was.

And somehow, he wasn't even sure that was the most worrying part.

 _"Congratulations, you managed to figure out the secret not even the Hokage knows. And now you need to convince me it will stay that way, or I'll have to kill you."_

 _The words had been so nonchalant, so_ casual _, they couldn't be taken as anything but completely and utterly sincere. Dead silence followed the proclamation, the talkative and brash Inuzuka for once at a loss for words. Even Akamaru had gone silent, the constant low rumble of his growling suddenly replaced by silence._

 _"You're... You're not joking, are you?" Kiba asked slowly, eyes still wide with shock. "Are you actually willing to kill me over this?"_

 _"I've killed for less," Masaru responded simply._

His hand slammed against the wall next to him, no where near hard enough to leave a dent but still enough to resonate with a loud _thump_. "Dammit, _Tan_ -Ryoko, why do your kids have to be so screwed up?" he hissed under his breath, rubbing at his eyes. He'd only intended stop by long enough to pick up something from Akari's room, he hadn't expected to overhear Masaru insinuate he'd have no qualms killing one of his friends.

At least he'd gotten what he came for. He'd barely had time to snag it when he heard the front door open and he'd been forced to hide. It was lucky he'd gotten into the habit of drawing scent-blocking seals on himself, or he'd have been detected instantly by the Inuzuka pair.

"This better be worth it," he muttered, pulling his mask back into place before unconsciously pulling on a seal.

Almost instantly the empty house gave way to a hotel room, the window's blinds drawn shut but an engraving of the Land of Hot Springs' emblem hinting at the location. He felt the drain of the massive jump on his chakra reserves only minutely, silently noting he probably shouldn't use any intensive ninjutsu or fuinjutsu that day as he tossed his mask on the table next to the kunai with the Hiraishin tag he'd used to return.

 _Good thing shinobi don't usually visit resorts,_ he thought as he heard a frantic pounding on the door connecting to the next room. "It's unlocked, you know," he called lazily, and the door flung open as a red-haired girl stumbled in, nearly tripping over the threshold. He arched an eyebrow at the clumsy display, folding his arms as he playfully commented, "Ya know, Karin-chan, I know Kusa did a piss-poor job teaching you anything, but I figured you'd at least know how to enter a room."

The redhead ignored the jab as she scrambled upright, smoothing out her pale blue yukata. " _Please_ tell me you got it," she pleaded breathlessly. "They're getting insufferable." He cracked a wry smile, shrugging his shoulders lazily.

"I don't know, you tell me," he drawled playfully, shifting his arms to reveal a braided bracelet wound around his fingers. A loud squeal sounded from the neighboring room, and Karin barely jumped out of the way in time for a brown and blue blur to rocket past her. The bracelet was snagged from his hand by an exuberant teenage girl, squealing and jumping up and down.

"Thank you thank you thank you _thank you_!" she chanted, her onyx eyes shining with delight. She didn't give him a chance to respond as she spun and darted back to the door, waving the bracelet excitedly. "Look, Nata! He got it! See? It's still just like yours! Agh, I can't believe I didn't think to grab it before!"

"Ah, th-that's..." Hinata's soft voice was barely audible from the other room, and he chuckled as Akari's excited rambling and squealing drowned it out. Karin looked at the open door with a small pout, prompting the man to smile and pat her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Akari-chan's just excited because she hasn't seen Hinata in a while. I'm sure she'll insist on making new ones for all three of you." Karin's eyes glided towards him briefly at the reassurance, still looking a bit put-upon but he could see the corners of her mouth quirk into a small smile.

As if on cue the excited Uchiha girl appeared in the door, snagging Karin's wrist. "You, we need to talk colors, _now,_ " she declared firmly, and gave Karin no chance to protest before dragging her into the room, leaving their supervisor to quietly laugh. He closed the door behind them before heading to the closet to grab his own complimentary yukata. Might as well hit the hot springs, he'd earned a little rest and relaxation.

He just wished peaceful moments like these could last forever.

* * *

 **At long last, Chapter 61.  
**

 **I apologize for the delay. Between a HORRIFIC case of writer's block and the _busiest semester of my school career_ , this chapter just refused to be written. Just. I have written at LEAST three versions of this chapter. I completed it multiple times and just did not feel satisfied. Then finally, one day I scrapped 90% of it and just hashed out this. All that remains of the original versions are some of the flashback quotes, and even those got a LOT of cutting and editing (and total rewrites in some cases). I hope it's still clear what happened.  
**

 **Just. Thank _goodness_ I finally got this finished. I did not intend for this to go six MONTHS without an update, I am so sorry.**

 ** **On the bright side, we have the first official full appearance of teenage Akari! I have been waiting so long to finally bring her back in the story, you have _no idea_. It wasn't very long and she probably won't be making any major appearances in the immediate future, but she's totally alive and safe, as you can see.  
****

 **On that note: at this point I cannot tell you when the next chapter will be released. I am now in my last semester of college, so I will be focusing all my efforts on that. Last semester I actually failed a class because I got burnt out by a different class and missed a big deadline, and this semester I only have two classes so I _really_ can't afford that again. Especially since one is an independent study that involves me creating an entire story-driven game by myself (by my own choice, mind you), which will be the culmination of my entire college career.**

 ** **Just. Yeah. Fan fiction will be a low priority this semester. I apologize now. ...That said, I'm REALLY getting into the My Hero Academia fandom, so if you have any fan fic recs from that fandom (or this one!), please share them. I need _something_ to avoid burnout, and I am consuming fan fiction from MHA at probably unhealthy levels. Gen preferred over romance or extreme AUs (as in, fantasy or modern). I do love canon divergence though.****

 **That's all for now. I am still alive, just very busy. I hope today's chapter was worth the wait!  
**


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